Persephone & Hades
by CrystalLuna93
Summary: First story (please be kind)! My take on what happened after Persephone got kidnapped by Hades. What happens when the Goddess awakes in a bed that it's not hers, with no clue of why she is there? (I do not own any of the Gods or mythical characters that appear on the story, just most of the souls; Cover: 'Persephone' by cgaddictworld ).
1. Chapter 1

Persephone felt that there was something amiss with the bed she was on, it didn't quite feel like the one she fell asleep on the previous night. This one was softer and the sheets felt very light and fresh. Something else was wrong: she didn't feel the bright light of morning that usually came through her bedroom windows. After a while of trying, in vain, to understand what felt so different that morning, she opened her warm brown eyes. The light was indeed different, instead of bright and white, it was fiery and intense orange, like a sunset in the middle of the summer. She thought that maybe she had slept much longer than usual, but surely her mother would have wakened her up, wouldn't she? Yes, if she had been at home, but she was not. Persephone figured that out when she sat up and looked around her. The bedroom was very ample, the floor and walls were made of pitch black marble that had little crystals shinning like stars in the night sky. On the walls you could see white battle scenes carved. The fiery light came from tree glorious windows, which were on the right end of the room. In front of her there were two great black wooden doors carved in a very intricate floral pattern. Finally, she looked at where she was sitting. The satin sheets and pillows were dark blue, almost black. Her bed frame was made of what looked like ebony, engraved of silver writings and encrusted with diamonds that shone like fire stones in that orange light.

Persephone looked perplexed around her. This had to be a nightmare, she could not possibly be there, but pinching herself did not wake her up from the reality she was in. That place was in fact real. Quickly she jumped from that bed like it was a plague. After landing on her feet, she felt something heaving on her neck, looking down and taking it in her hands, she examined the foreigner object. It was a necklace that had a silver chain and a tear-shaped pendant. This one was also black and had the shape of a silver tear engraved. Persephone tried to take it off by pulling it, the chain did not break. She tried to pull it above her head but it didn't go pass her ears. She tried to find a locket on the chain to open it up, but there was none. In the process she noticed that there was a silver ring with writings on it on her marriage finger, and like the necklace, it didn't come off. _'By the Olympus, what is happening!?' _she thought in utter desperation. Turning around, she met her reflection in the mirror that was on the headboard of the bed. She wanted to scream profanities, someone had changed her nightgown. This one clung tightly around her curves and its cleavage was way too big for her likings.

Scared, she started to have a suspicion of her whereabouts, there could not be another explanation of what had occurred... Persephone got her confirmation when, after feeling a cold presence behind her, she turned around and came face to face with a translucent figure. 'AAAAHHHH!' she screamed with her eyes bulging out of their sockets, jumping off her feet and landing, painfully, with her behind on the cold marble floor and face drained of any color. The figure watched her with curiosity, with a peach colored dress in its hands. It was a ghost, an old woman, so it seemed. 'Hello, my lady. My name is Agathe and I am here to serve you' she said very politely. Persephone continued to look at Agathe with wide eyes, seeing that her lady did not react, she continued, 'His lordship requested for you to wear this dress' she said while laying the dress on Persephone's bed, 'There's a bath prepared for you in your bathing room on that door', said Agathe while pointing to a door that Persephone had not discovered yet in the center of the left wall of the room, 'I also requested for some servants to bring you your breakfast, they should be here in a while. If there's anything that you need, please call me, just say my name and I'll be here as soon as I can' with that and a warm smile, Agathe dissolved in the air.

Persephone was still sitting on the floor processing what was happening. One could hear the engines of her mind working at full speed. Her suspicion was right. There was only one place in Greece where souls were used as servants, she was in the Underworld, in the home of her uncle Hades. The first thought that came to her was _'Shit.'_ Something told her that this day would come sooner or later, but it still could not keep her away from the overwhelming mixture of feelings that assaulted her. What started off with fear, slowly turned into anger. She already knew where she was, but what for? A whore? A wife? She did not know. Zeus, her father, never told her what she was going to become in the Underworld, only that, when she would come of age, that she was supposed to go and live there, apparently it was her mother's job to tell her what for, but she never did. Now her lack of responses had ceased, because she started to rip open the large amount of pillows that were in her bed, needless to say, white went flying everywhere. After five minutes her bed looked like a cloud, it was covered in feathers, so was her hair. And there she sat in the middle of the bed, contemplating on what she was to do now. Persephone could not possibly just leave the Underworld and throwing a fit would not get her anywhere, might as well accept the bath that was waiting for her.

* * *

What Persephone did not know was that Hades had been watching her reactions from the time she woke up until she decided to take the bath. He was sitting on his throne watching a hologram of what had taken place. _'She has fire, I'll give her that.' _he thought while watching the way she destroyed, completely, the pillows on her bed. The second she was out of the room, with the new dress in hand, he ordered that the pillows should be replaced and the feathers in her bed taken he wanted he could just to continue spying on her while she bathed, but decided against it. He had taken her from her home, might as well respect her privacy. Hades had already seen how beautiful she was, but it had not been for the beauty that he had picked her for, Persephone had a very strong personality, a fiery one at that. If he just wanted a doll to sit by him in the Underworld he would have gone to a brothel and picked the finest one, but life would still be dull. After years alone, he needed a companion, not just in bed, but in life. But he would not tell her this just now, nor come to her encounter, Hades still wanted to see how she would react to the room that he had made just for her and to the life she was bound for.

For now Hades still had a forever growing line of souls to attend to and maybe tomorrow, he was still deciding, he would pay Persephone's mother a visit.

* * *

Barefoot, Persephone walked slowly into the bathing room, not knowing if there would be another translucent figure ready to scare the color out of her skin. This room was a little bit smaller than the bedroom. There was a medium sized pool in the middle, the water was still, if one was not careful, it could be mistaken by being the floor, but the steam coming from it, the black towels with white designs and the oils sitting around it gave it away. In the middle of these objects there were some red tulips lying, as well as some pomegranates broken in halves. All around there were glorious columns, large and very detailed, making Persephone feel ever so small while standing next to them. She laid her dress on a chair that was near the pool, this piece of furniture was of the same style of her bed, same silver writings and diamonds, but the seat cushion was of pure white. Persephone took off the wretched nightgown and letting it fall on the floor and pooling at her feet. Carefully stepping in the pool, she noticed how hot it was and let herself relax as much as she could, for she always feared one of those souls would bargain in without warning her. She didn't count, but she swore she had spent almost half an hour there.

Done with her bath and dried off, she dressed the peach gown she was given. It only had one shoulder and went to the floor, it had an intricate silver design on the waist, outlining it perfectly. If Persephone wanted to walk, she had to grab a piece of the silk fabric of the gown, otherwise, and with her sense of balance, she would have tripped and fallen.

When she got to the bedroom, she started looking for some sandals on a vast wardrobe she had spotted on the bedroom. Interestingly, it had the same motives of decoration as the rest of the furniture she had seen so far. Looking through the multicolored dresses in the wardrobe, she started to feel a bit nauseated, all of them exposed too much skin and appeared to be extremely tight, _'I'm not wearing these...' _thought Persephone. Her assumption that she was there has a whore started gaining points. She wanted to rip them all to shreds and burn them all, but then again, it was either wearing them or use the same dress every day or be in the nude. Trying to take her mind off the lustful dresses, she found a pair of sandals that she liked, there were so many that she decided the simpler the better.

The very moment she finished putting them on, Agathe appeared in the room, always with a kind and polite expression on her features. 'My lady, breakfast has been served in the other room, would you care to follow me?' Persephone nodded in response, still weary of this vitreous figure. Going through the now open doors, she could see an enormous hall, decorated in a similar fashion as the bedroom, but she did not have time to assimilate all the details and afraid of getting lost, she quickly followed Agathe through another doorway. This one was right next to her room, so she hoped she would be able to remember which one was.

Inside was a room completely different from what Persephone had seen so far. It was much smaller but had the same night-sky ground, the walls and the furniture seemed much warmer. They were covered with beautiful tapestries, the ground with soft rugs and huge pillows, all seemed to be hand-made. There were several medium sized brown chests near the columns and two large commodes, one at the right wall and the other at the left wall. In the center of the room there was a short table filled with bread, several fruits, wine and water, beside that table there was a divan. On top of the commodes, the center table and other small tables that were scattered around the room there were vases with freshly picked red tulips and lit candle-holders. The colors of the room varied from reds, oranges and some blues, the decoration seemed to be more Arabian than Greek.

'His lordship has had the room made just for you my lady. He said you are the only one allowed to use it' said Agathe, as if she heard the unspoken question Persephone had in her head _'What is this?'_ As soon as she heard Agathe's remark, Persephone's head snapped in the soul's direction. 'Excuse me, what!?' she asked, perplexed, 'The room is yours. You may do with it as you please, my lady. As you can see breakfast is served, if there isn't anything else you need I shall leave' said Agathe, and seeing that she wasn't needed, she dissolved in the air once more, leaving Persephone alone again.

Persephone stood in the same spot looking at where Agathe once was. She looked again at the chests and commodes. 'Having in mind what I have seen so far in that wretched wardrobe, I won't even try to see what's in those' said Persephone to herself as she sat at the table and inspected the food fearing that there might be some aphrodisiac in there. But her stomach betrayed her, she had not eaten anything else since she went to sleep last night. _'Traitor...'_ she thought while glaring at her abdomen. Reluctantly, she started eating some pomegranate seeds.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

That dress fitted her perfectly he noticed, once again looking at the hologram. Her outraged face that she made when she saw the inside of her wardrobe was priceless, it made him laugh like he never did before. Hades just prayed she would not do anything reckless, like setting it on fire. He knew she didn't want to be there, it was written all over her face, but his selfish side would not let her go, ever. All he could do was to try to make her happy, give her things he knew she liked and hope for the best. Hades knew she liked red tulips, so he had some souls raising them in the botanic garden he had created for her. She still did not know of its existence, but in time she would. Although knowing most of the things that she did and did not like, he knew she would be tough to crack, but that would not keep him from trying. He already knew that the dresses were a bad idea, but he wouldn't give up on them. '_This should be fun to see'_ he thought amused_._

Soon he heard the door to the throne room open and quickly he turned the hologram off, starting with his duties. 'Doros, step inside!' exclaimed Hades to the first soul of the day.

* * *

That day went by quickly, it was like a blur with ghostly servants coming in every now and then, asking if she needed anything. Most of the times she would say that she was fine, but then the hunger would come once more. Those were the only occasions where Persephone would call for Agathe or ask something to the other servants. She didn't do much more than laying in the bed-like cushions of the Arabian room and occasionally eating something. She would lie there, staring blankly at the ceiling, it was just like the floor, a beautiful starry night. She kept thinking about what was happening, trying to find a reason why _she_, out of all of the Goddesses of the Olympus, was the one chosen to be there. He could have had Aphrodite easily, why her? And why hadn't he come to greet her? She had only seen Hades once and those memories soon clouded her mind.

_Persephone was still very young at the time, she was maybe eight years old, she could not quite recall. Her mother Demeter had taken her to the Olympus, where her father lived. Zeus' palace was very bright, made out of pure white marble. The great columns were covered in ivies, deep green leaves and purple flowers. Persephone sat on the stairs near one of the columns, she picked up a small vase with dirt inside. It looked like someone had left it there just for her. She guessed that she could practice some of her powers, not caring very much if she got her peach dress dirty. The adults were busy discussing something she had not quite figured out, she had heard them say 'marriage' and talking about someone named Hades, but could not put both things together. Leaving the matter behind, Persephone decided that she would make a tulip blossom from that dirt. With her brows coming into a frown, she focused very hard. Every time she would open her eyes, there would be a white daisy instead of the red tulip she wanted to see, but she kept trying. After five failures: two white daisies, a pink tulip and another two white tulips, Persephone finally succeeded, she finally made a red tulip blossom. Proud of her accomplishment, she put the vase on the stairs letting the sun warm the new flower._

_ After this, she heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Looking behind her, she saw a very tall man. He was very good looking to say the least. In comparison with most of the Gods she had known so far, his skin was somewhat lighter, not as sun skinned as her father's. He had dirty blond hair that was combed back, it came to his ears. His eyes were very unique and mystical, one was as black as the night and the other was as green as the leaves of the ivy. His figure was very similar to the ones of her father's, very well built and with broad shoulders. But unlike her father and most of the Gods Persephone had met so far, this man was clad in black. He didn't wear any sandals, there were boots instead, and instead of only wearing a tunic, he also had a pair of dark leather pants, or so it seemed. He came to sit next to her and picked up the flower, but as soon as he touched it, the tulip withered in his hand, with broken petals falling on the marble step. Persephone looked at him outraged, she had put so much work and effort on making that specific flower blossom and in two seconds he had thrown all that away. 'How could you?!' asked little Persephone at the stranger, to which he answered 'It's not my fault little one, flowers don't do well underground.' That answer left her thinking and quiet for a while, trying to figure a way to prove him wrong, she had to. Persephone picked up the vase and saying 'But flowers come from beneath the earth!' she took the seed and the small root of the tulip and handed it to him. 'You're getting my clothes full of dirt little one' he grumbled, while trying to get the dirt out of his tunic, 'Stop being silly' the small girl answered with an innocent smile, a genuine one. Hades eyed her in a slightly confused manner, usually little girls like her would run away from him, scared of his dark appearance and behavior._

_ Meanwhile, she picked up the rotten flower from the marble and placed it on the vase again, and with a white handkerchief she cleaned his hands. The little brown-haired girl gasped to how cold his hands were. 'Are you ill? Your skin is so cold!' asked Persephone worried, 'No little one' he answered with a small smile, 'Whenever I come to the surface I get cooler, because the place I come from is much warmer and because your hands are even warmer', to this Persephone nodded her little head in understanding of what he was telling her, it made sense. A minute after the strange man asked 'Are you Aphrodite and Hephaestus' daughter?' to which she replied with a smile 'No, my mother is the Queen of the trees. Aren't you cold?', 'In fact I am, little one' he said while taking her small and warm hands in his much larger and cooler._

_ They stood like this for some time, until he got an idea, 'You know, I can also make flowers' he admitted, 'You can?' inquired Persephone a little confused. 'Yes, little one. I'll make one, but you cannot touch it, understand?' he said with a smug smile plastered on his face, the little girl only nodded her head, she was suspicious. Slowly a silver narcissus blossomed in his cold hands, but its beauty did not last longer than five short minutes. 'You are not giving it life. Try again, please!' said Persephone while putting her hands beneath his, 'Once dead, things don't usually last long.' he told her. 'Don't be silly!' retorted the young girl. He looked at her with an annoyed expression, 'Why?' demanded the strange man. 'You see, the dead tulip can make the dirt good enough to make another seed germinate' said the girl while putting a petal from the tulip on the dirt and making a white narcissus blossom from it. She gently picked up the white flower and handed it to him, saying 'It's for you. It's not as beautiful as the one you made, but it won't die', placing the narcissus in his hands. The man thanked the little girl and softly kissed her forehead before getting up, waving goodbye as he dissolved into the air._

_ Shortly after her father appeared sitting next to her, while putting Persephone in his lap. He looked very similar to the strange man she had been talking to, but instead of eyes of different colors, his were blue has the sky. 'What are you doing my child?' asked Zeus softly. Persephone made a tulip appear in her hands gave it to him to show what she had been practicing._

As every bit the memory ended, she remembered that that night she asked Demeter who that man was. She had told her that he was Hades, the lord of the Underworld. _'At least he isn't an ugly old man...' _thought Persephone to herself in the end of that early memory.

It was growing late, the fiery light started fading into the bluish sparkle of the moon, turning the warm room colder and gloomier. Persephone got up from where she had been lying and carefully made her way into the bedroom she was given. The palace looked haunted at night, some candles were lit and some souls wandered slowly on the hall. This sight made chills travel down her spine, and quickly she was where she had awaken earlier. Going through her wardrobe, she picked the simplest nightgown she could find, it was plain white and went to her knees. It was simple, but for her it was enough.

Laying down on the blue satin sheets, Persephone closed her eyes, trying to forget, for a moment, the turn her life had taken.

* * *

Finally, that was the last damned soul of the day. It was the soul of a young woman, but her youth did nothing to smooth her evil ways. Her name was Despoinê, her life had been taken by the guards of the lady she had killed out of pure jealousy and loathe. She had been the mistress of the husband of that lady. 'I think her name was Iola' Hades said to himself, after sending the mistress and the disloyal man to Tartarus. Apparently, to that man she would never go past that, a _mistress_. Despoinê did not cope well with that decision and, in an act of desperation, she stabbed Iola several times in the heart, after she had poisoned the man. Their sentence was a harsh one, she was to have her hands being cut off every time they would grow back, this several times a day. He, one the other hand, was to left in a dark, cold cave, with no eyes, tongue or ears.

As the years went on, Hades noticed that less and less souls got to the Elysian Fields. The world was becoming more tainted and greedy, people did not seem content with what they had, even if it was plenty.

He made his way to his chambers, dismissing the servants, he would not be needing them anymore that day. Lying in bed, he faced the ceiling and decided that it would be a good idea to check on his beloved. Making the hologram appear on the ceiling, he watched as the beautiful brunette slept wrapped in dark blue sheets, curled around herself. The blue light designing beautifully her features and curves, one would say that she was sleeping pleasantly if it weren't for the lines formed on her forehead that indicated her nervousness and restlessness of her sleep. It saddened him to know she was not as content as he wished she was, those lines pained him greatly. He had to keep in mind that that was only the beginning and that, maybe, with time she would come around. With this, it was his turn to close his eyes and sleep.

* * *

The next two days were passed in a similar fashion. She would sit in boredom in the Arabian room. He would watch how she was handling being there whenever he could. Although loving the sight, he had some other matters to attend to. One of them was named Demeter. Hades thought that dealing with souls everyday was wearing, he still had not faced the wrath of the Goddess.

He hated going to the surface, it was much cooler than what he was used to. The Underworld might be a lonely place, but at least it was much warmer and the light didn't hurt his eyes. With one thought he dissolved from his throne room and reappeared on Demeter's doorstep. Hades didn't bother to knock on the door, he just went inside. What his eyes saw was chaos. There were pieces of vases and dishes broken everywhere, chairs tossed on the ground, the white curtains were completely torn, it looked like a Titan had passed there._ 'And they say I'm the one with anger management issues...'_ he thought in disbelief at the sight that was presented to him.

'DEMETER!' he called loudly. He needed to talk to her, to try make her realize that it was his given right to bring Persephone with him into the Underworld. Would she listen? Maybe not, most of the times she would act like an obnoxious and spoiled child. Not a second had passed and there was the blond Goddess in front of him. Her fair skin was red with anger and her light green eyes were darkened, throwing daggers at him. Before he could speak his mind a plate hit him hard on the forehead, making him stumble a bit backwards. She was about to throw him a vase when Hades grabbed her by the neck with one hand, lifting off her feet. While trying to struggle away, Demeter's nails scratched his arm leaving red marks on his clear skin, her feet kicked him in the gut, but none of that made an effect on Hades. 'DEMETER STOP!' yelled Hades, so loud that the trees outside where quickly left by the creatures that lived there. 'Now you will listen to me and you will wait until I'm finished. Are we clear woman?' declared Hades sternly, his hand still on her throat. The blond only nodded her head, for fear that he might rip off her head in anger. Hades let go of her and started 'Your daughter is with me, I believe you already know that. I know you have been against this marriage since the day it was set, but that was not for you to decide. The matter is between me and Zeus and no one else. This was set so many years ago, why haven't you settled your mind? You had enough time. It's not her fault that you cannot let go off anything, it's anyone's fault. Persephone is Zeus' firstborn, do you really believe that he had no plans set for her?', Hades kept a stern look in his face, he felt like he was scolding a small child, 'And never forget that I was the one that has been keeping you and everyone else from what I have locked in Tartarus, so think twice about what you are planning to do! Or do you wish to put this _Peace _at risk because of your whim?' he said pointing his finger in her direction.

Thinking he was done talking, Demeter, with hot tears falling from her eyes, started screaming 'But why take Kore away from me?! Why take her to the Underworld?', 'Didn't you listen? I already told you why! It's my right and besides, there's no turning back now, she already ate the pomegranate. And I already told you, her name is Persephone' he finished with a more calm expression, the crazy blond women would never listen to him, she never did, but he didn't care, it wasn't his problem anymore. Now his responsibility was keeping Persephone with him, happy and loved.

He turned his back to her, preparing to leave, but not without making justice to his name. 'And let's face it, dear Demeter, it can get quite lonely down there with an empty bed to come back to at night.' he said with a smirk plastered on his face. The blond woman opened her eyes wide and jolted on his direction, ready to hit him with everything she got. Before she got to him, Hades dissolved in the air laughing hard at her face, leaving her to hit her face against the wooden door and falling on floor. 'HADES COME BACK!'

While Demeter screamed her lungs out at the surface, Hades was back home laughing at her loathing screams. The Goddess was crazy and childish, out of whim she got herself in Zeus' bed and out of whim she was throwing a fit over what was happening. He still remembered the night the arrangement was made between him and his older brother. It had been two months since the girl's birth, Zeus had called him with urgency. At the time his brother kept mentioning that the Underworld was a place too dark to be ruled alone, he kept saying that Hades needed someone. In that meeting it was decided that, until Persephone came of age that she would stay under her mother's care and her father's watch, so that there would be no one courting her, after that she should be married off to Hades, then it would be his turn to take guardianship of her wellbeing. Demeter tried every argument she knew to stop this arrangement, but Zeus didn't pay her much attention, for him all that mattered at that moment was to guarantee his firstborn's future and the peace that had been established earlier that year.

Hades never forgot the deal that was made and kept a tight eye on Persephone through the years, learning as much about her as he could. What were her likings and passions. So far he had filled the Arabian with things she liked, some she had already seen, but he feared for the rest. She had already proved to have part of her mother's destructive temper, he just hoped she wasn't hiding her father's stormy nature for when she saw what was hiding inside the drawers of the commodes.

In a few days he would come to her and ask her to join him for dinner, but for now he had some other matters to attend to. Meaning, another line of damned souls to hear and adjudicate.

* * *

It had been two days since Persephone's arrival and she had done very little on her time there. She still feared what was hidden inside her furniture and Agathe gave her the chills, she kept appearing and disappearing without any warning whatsoever. Out of tedium and curiosity she looked intently at the diamond incrusted commodes of the Arabian room. _'Is it safe to open them?' _she asked herself. She was laying in one of the big pillows, observing the piece of furniture intently. 'Let's see what you have there' she said to nobody in particular, but having Hades in mind. She got up and stretched her limbs that made small cracking sounds, they felt rather stiff, _'I need to start doing some exercise, lying around all day won't do me any good.'_

Persephone made her way towards the commode and once in front of it, she slowly opened the top drawer, they were three. Her eyes became as wide as the moon and she started feeling sick, wanting to throw up what she had had for lunch. The drawer was filled with jewelry: earrings made of gold and silver incrusted with different jewels, bracelets of the same style. There were some headbands, all looking expensive and rich. Some pieces had the same writings that she had seen scribbled on every piece of furniture. Feeling panicked, she opened the other two compartments and both of them were filled with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds. The fiery light that hit them reflected on the ceiling and on Persephone's face. She didn't even dare to touch what she saw, she felt like a luxury whore being spoiled. Breathing hard, Persephone imagined that commode exploding, sending splinters across the room. That was exactly what occurred next, with the powers she had inherited from Zeus, the commode ceased to be, in from of her the gems and jewelry stood scattered across the floor. 'How could he? He doesn't make himself known and yet spoils me with objects that only a whore in these circumstances would enjoy!' she yelled, anger rising, she felt disgusted.

Not wanting to have her eyes meeting those cold gifts, she went back to her bedroom. The notion that she was there as a mistress was gaining even more points, the extravagant and flashy gowns, the Arabian room and the expensive jewelry... He had not even made himself known to give her an adequate explanation of why she was there. Clutching her fists in her pillows, Persephone fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

In the throne room a crashing sound was heard from afar. Hades, who was attending the soul of an old man that had died alone, drowned in his own greediness, looked in the direction of the sound, he could almost guess what had taken place. 'My lord, if I may, I could repair whatever has been broken, I was a very skilled craftsman back in my young days' said the old man carefully enough not to anger the God, and with hopes of having a lighter punishment. Hades eyed him with suspicion, 'Oh! I believe I have the perfect task for that', he said thinking about that damaged Persephone had certainly caused, 'You shall stay as my servant. I believe that soon enough your skills will be put to good use.' said Hades smirking slightly, like he was putting the soul through some test. 'Thank you very much, my lord. I'll do whatever it takes to make you from reconsidering your offer.' said the old man dropping to his knees in fake gratitude. Hades asked what his name was, the greedy old soul answered 'My parents named me Epaphros, my lord', with this the God rose to his feet and called one of the spirit-like guards. 'Zotikos, take Epaphros to the servants ward if you may.'

Not having anyone else in the throne room, Hades made the hologram appear once more. Persephone was sound asleep in her bed, clutching her pillow with such strength that her knuckles turned white. Waiving his hand he made the images go back to what had taken place ten minutes prior. Sitting back on his throne, legs apart, head supported by his hand, he watched as Persephone blew up the jewelry commode. Like he had guessed, Epaphros would never be able to fix it. This action did not surprise him, but what she had said angered him, to think that he had brought her there has his mistress. Clearly Demeter being egoistical, as she always was, forgot to tell her daughter what she had been destined to become, his wife. With a raged movement of his arm, the plate of food and the chalice of wine, that were sitting beside him, went flying across the floor, food scattered down the throne steps, wine dripping down. 'That crazy woman is making this so much trying than it should be. Had Persephone known why she is here, maybe, just maybe, she would come around sooner'. He could only fear for what could happen to the rest of the gifts he had there waiting for her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

During that day there were no more incidents. Persephone slept through the light and dark hours of the day, only to wake up in the next morning with a heavy head. 'I shouldn't have slept that long...' she whispered to herself, a little bit groggy. Picking herself up from bed, she looked at her reflection on the mirror of the headboard. Her light brown hair was messed up, she could see many knots in it, 'These are going to be fun to take off...' she whispered sarcastically. Her dress was all wrinkled and there were two large dark circles in her face, even her mouth had an awful taste. Her mother used to say that she had inherited her grandmother's hair and eyes, but she was almost certain that she rarely looked like this.

Interestingly, that was the first time, since her arrival, that the thought of her mother came to her. But in the exact moment it had occurred, she started to feel the blood in her veins starting to boil. She should have told her what she was in for, but no, the more she asked her mother the faster she ran away from the topic, always answering 'You're my daughter and that's all that matters'. After all the days that passed since her _disappearance_, Persephone guessed that her house must have been half destroyed. Demeter was a very hot headed Goddess.

Taking notes of her horrible state, she went to the wretched wardrobe to find something that she liked, which was difficult. Either she liked the color and hated the shape of the dress, or she would find one decent enough for her but the color would be hideous. That day things turned out to be a little different. She found a blood-red gown, the fabric looked like velvet but much more lighter and, to her surprise, it covered her cleavage almost completely. She would have jumped in joy if it hadn't been for Agathe appearing right behind her, without any warning, telling her that her bath was ready. Persephone thanked her and, with her gown and sandals in hand, she made her way towards the bathing room. The pool was steaming, making the room foggier than it usually did, all she could see were some tall light-holders near the pool area. Persephone looked strangely at the fog, as far as she knew, this could be a trick from Hades, but on the other hand she could not stay in the dismantled state she was in. With precaution, she went to the chair that stood next to the pool, she put her things there and entered the water still wearing her dress. She had the impression of being watched, but it could be the fog playing with her head, sending her wrong assumptions.

* * *

Little did she know that Hades stood still in a far corner of the bathing room, hidden by the mist. He knew he was taking away her privacy, but the way the dresses clung to Persephone's body made him yearn to see what was hidden beneath the fabric. Hades had been hiding his desire from himself with some difficulty, he thought that, by ignoring its existence, it would be easier to preserve her privacy. But that technique didn't work well with the gowns that he had gotten for his wife, in fact, it only backfired at him. The feeling increased every day and every day he tried to keep it at bay. It was like telling someone to try not to think about a white bear, it doesn't work, the image of the white bear becomes much more accessible to our minds. To Hades his white bear was the growing desire that he felt for Persephone. But what Hades kept from his mind during the day, assaulted him during the night, and that night had been the one that broke his control. The holograms weren't enough, he needed to be in the same space as her.

Part of him, a small one, felt guilty to pry on her this way, but the rest didn't care anymore. He wasn't expecting what occurred next, she got in the pool fully dressed, _'What?!' _he thought shocked, mouth hanging open, a fly could have gone in and out of his mouth and Hades wouldn't have noticed. _'Is she mad? Why is she doing that?' _His mind was so clouded in desire, like the bathing room was in steam, that he had almost forgotten the state of the division.

He had been the one making it that way, but even Gods make mistakes and let themselves, unconsciously and like any mortal, get controlled by their passions. And controlled by his desire, he forgot that he was hiding and smacked his forehead, loudly. The sound echoed through the room and Persephone quickly turned around, eyes wide. 'Who's there?' she asked, voice slightly tinted with fear. Before she could start searching, Hades dissolved back into his chambers as fast as he could. Only one word came out of his mouth, 'Shit!'

* * *

'I knew that there was something off with all of this steam' said Persephone annoyed but, at the same time, glad that she had gotten in with the dress on. The list of events of Hades odd behavior started cycling around her mind _'First, he doesn't come to meet me. Second, he offers me gifts like he is paying for a whore. And now he acts like a boy, spying on me!'_, 'Who does he think he is? If he wants something he might as well say it at once and get it over with!' Persephone screamed loudly, her blood boiling so much that she was sure that her temperature was higher than the water's. She was getting tired of this game, it would be one week the day after and she still didn't know why and what for she was there. Stepping from the pool, she searched every corner of that space for someone, but she found no one. Only after making sure of being alone that Persephone decided to change to the more decent gown.

Knowing that Agathe had her breakfast already set up in the Arabian room, Persephone made her way there. She decided that it was time to see all of what was stored inside those chests and the other commode. When she entered the room, the brunette was expecting to see wooden barbs scattered across the floor, but the colorful rugs were spotless. Looking in the direction of the furniture that she had exploded the previous day, she found it to be as if it had never been touched, 'Bastard...' she muttered to herself.

Persephone started her scavenging by putting all the chests around the breakfast table. To her surprise, they weren't as heavy as she had expected them to be. If she had to see what was inside, might as well do it comfortably. Munching on an apple, she opened the first, it was quite small, dark brown and beautifully carved with rubies. In the inside there were some odd objects, they looked like parts of a musical instrument, but she couldn't be sure until she had them assembled. Looking strangely at them she put them aside and opened the other chests. Every single one of them had the odd objects. After clearing the table, she put every single one of them on top of it. They seem to be made of cherry-tree wood, some of them were long, with strings in them, and others looked like the legs of a spider. After a careful examination, Persephone found some holes in half of the objects that matched what looked like keys on the others. It seemed to be some sort of puzzle. Persephone smiled to herself, finally there was something to occupy her time with. She spent almost four hours on the strange and intricate puzzle, she had never seen something like that. Her lunch had already been served that day and remained untouched until she had finished assembling the unique object.

Once done, and with several small cuts on her fingers due to the strings, she got herself on her feet and observed the result. It could be anything, but she suspected that it was a musical instrument. The object was like a five pointed star, the wood was carved with floral patterns and, unlike the furniture and other objects that Persephone had seen so far, it did not have any kind of gems incrusted in it. Each section of that star had several silver strings connecting the end to its center, and there were even some ends that connected by similar strings, it looked like someone had put several violins together. The spider leg-like parts were assembled in each side of the strings, varying between groups of three to eight, they were like fingers ready to play. Persephone wanted to play it herself, but there was no way that she alone could do it, she only had two arms. To play that, there would be needed about ten. Looking around it she tried to find some kind of mechanism that could help her on that task.

Starting to feel somewhat frustrated, she sat down on one of the big pillows and glared at the object. She sat that until an idea came to her, 'Agathe, I need your assistance' she said aloud and, in less than a minute, there was the phantasmagorical woman. 'I'm here, my lady, what is it that you wish?' asked Agathe in a very polite manner. Being certain that the servant knew what it was and how it worked Persephone asked, 'Can you please help me to get it to play? I've tried but it doesn't come with instructions'. Agathe laughed slightly, and said 'You just have to touch its center and it'll play, my lady' before disappearing into thin air. Persephone looked blankly at the spot Agathe had left, thinking _'She must enjoy seeing me frustrated'_.

Getting up from the pillow she walked up to the instrument, and very lightly touched its center, just like the glassy figure had told her to do. The spider legs started to move slowly, one by one, pulling some of the strings, the sound it made was beautiful. It began in one part of the star and slowly moved to the other four parts. The sound reminded her of the belly dance lessons from Terpsichore, the muse of dance, when she was younger. It made her smile, made her forget what had gone on that morning. Unconsciously, her body started to respond to the music in harmony with the tune, arms rising and hips sensually moving.

She would have started dancing like she had learned, had it not been for the sudden memory of Hades spying on her that morning. Persephone stopped moving at that thought, all of her high spirits crashing down and like she did. Back on top of the pillow she was, her warm eyes moving sadly from the instrument that never stopped playing, to the commode she hadn't opened yet. Was it worth to see what was inside it? Maybe not, the notion of him spying on her made her angrier. She didn't want the perverted bastard to take away her privacy, but preventing him to see her in some compromising situations meant that she couldn't do the things she loved the most. That meant that she would have to stay there miserable for the rest of her life._ 'Hades must have something else to do all day rather than spying on me' _thought Persephone in indignation. She got up again a walked to the commode, looking at it in a mix of frustration and curiosity, she opened the top drawer. What she saw there made her tilt her head to the side in confusion, there were golden swords, see-through veils of all colors and several pairs of fans with very intricate designs. 'By the Olympus, what are these doing here?' she asked to no one in particular. Persephone opened the middle one, several dancing tops where in there, none were simple, all different from each other, but all made out of silver or gold. Rhinestones made them shine. With this she got a suspicion of what was in the last drawer, opening it she saw several skirts carefully folded, all of them had belts that matched the designs of the tops. It seemed to be one skirt to one particular top.

Persephone's smile was getting wider by the minute. Her mother never approve of her learning how to dance. In fact, there was one time that her mother had caught her trying to learn, let's just say that it didn't end very well for little Persephone. Being that, she had to ask Terpsichore to teach her how to in secret. Until that day Demeter had never known or even suspected. She wanted to try one of those outfits so badly, but knowing Hades was watching made her feel uncomfortable. She took a plum outfit from the commode and made her way to the table to eat something while she decided what she was going to do next. Was she going to gain some courage and dance, or was she just going leave it all there?

* * *

Hades was in a meeting with Thanatos and The Keres, just for routine. There were some souls whose judgment was turning out to be more difficult to make than usual. It would have been much easier to do if The Moirai, them being Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, were there. Apparently the golden threads had gotten mingled together.

The group was seating on a long rectangular table, made out of mahogany with silver writings and diamonds adorning it. Hades was at one end, with the dark figure of Thanatos at his right and the sanguine group of The Keres at his left. Usually The Moirai would sit beside the personification of death. Hades planned to soon have Persephone sitting on the same end of the table as him, to help him judge and fulfill with the new responsibilities that her new position brought.

They were about to draw some conclusions when someone knocked on the door. Hades was not in a good mood that day, the morning had started horribly and the meeting was dragging itself for hours. Thinking that it was some soul that had not understood the rule that stipulated that no being, dead or alive, should interrupt him when he was on a meeting, he screamed 'Who to dares interrupt me?! I thought I was clear enough for your infected and darned souls to understand to never do that again!' while conjuring a ball of fire in his right hand and throwing it to the ebony door. The later ended with a hole in it, the edges with small flames burning them. Hades expected to see one of his servants screaming in pain from the flames, but instead he only got Hermes picking in, brown eyes wide open and skin as white as calcite. The messenger of the Gods, slightly trembling, moved a bit more into view. 'Oh! It's you, _dear_ nephew. What message brings you to my humble home?' said Hades smirking and voice dripping with sarcasm, he was never too fond of the blond God and those wings on his feet annoyed him greatly, he didn't know why, they just did. There was something about Hermes that he didn't trust. 'Hum... Zeus requires your presence in the Olympus as soon as possible Hades. He says that it is of utter importance', said the young one quickly. He hated to go to the Underworld, it was hot, dark and he hated the way Charon looked at him. His uncle's presence didn't help either, last time he was there Hades had gotten Cerberus to bite him, Hermes still had the marks to prove it.

Hades, knowing what the subject was, sent Hermes away, telling him that he would be there as soon as he could. As the winged God turned away to leave, Hades snapped his fingers and the three headed dog started running after him, trying to bit one of those annoying little wings. The dark judging group was left laughing hard at Hermes' disgrace.

'Well, my friends, it seems that my presence is needed, we shall continue our meeting tomorrow' said Hades after composing himself, putting his helmet on and dissolving in the air. Quickly he was in front of Zeus, making the later jump off his feet. 'You wished to see me, brother?' asked Hades smirking, Zeus glared at him but answered, 'Yes, it's about the agreement we made all those years ago, after Persephone's birth. I'm sure you haven't forgotten it' and, indeed, he hadn't, 'Yes Zeus, I haven't forgotten about it, especially one of that magnitude' said Hades sternly, he didn't like to have people doubting his word, but again Zeus persisted 'So I'm sure that you'll do everything you can to have Cronus and the Titans well secure then? I have done my part of the bargain, you have a wife now, it's your turn to keep yours.' Hades loathed being tested like this. Zeus knew that his brother only needed to snap his finger and chaos would break loose. All he needed do next was to sit on his black throne and enjoy the show.

The temperature around two started to rise, Hades anger getting the best of him. 'Zeus, listen very carefully to what I am going to, and listen good for I will only say it once. You have done your part and I am going to do mine, don't push the limits of our bargain nor try to doubt my word or I'll be _forced_ to go back on it, and that would be a tragedy wouldn't it, brother? And talking about that, I have recently discovered that Demeter didn't do hers' , or am I mistaken?', Zeus looked dumfounded at Hades, 'What do you mean she hasn't done her part?', 'I mean that she didn't tell Persephone what you and her had agreed on, but that is your problem to take care of. Farewell brother' smirked Hades one last time before disappearing and going back underground. Zeus was left with his blood boiling and smoke coming out of his ears.

* * *

Persephone had already eaten what had been set for her, thankfully the food was always good. The plum dancing outfit was tempting her. She wanted to try it out so badly that the idea of Hades watching her was becoming less and less disturbing, until it got to the point that she didn't care about it anymore. She went behind a screen that was set there. Before she had had no reason to pay it much attention, but then she didn't have a reason to. It had colorful birds painted and the borders were dark brown, with vines carved in it. After changing into the outfit, Persephone stepped on the other side of the screen and looked at her reflection on the mirror that was near it. The top of the outfit had a gold frame incrusted with small rhinestones, each breast was covered with plum satin and gold designs were on its borders and between her breasts. The skirt was simpler, it had the same motives on its waist as the top but with some gold lines going down her thighs, the fabric pooled at her feet. It was much more revealing than the dresses she liked to use, but she didn't care, if she got to dance then she would be happy. So far, the musical instrument and the outfits were the only gifts she had enjoyed.

She went to the commode and picked a plum veil from it. Going to the instrument, she touched its center twice so it would start playing from the beginning. Positioning herself in the middle of the room, she let the song flow through her body, starting to move as Terpsichore had taught her. Slowly at first, hips and belly moving at the rhythm of the strings being pulled. Her arms moved around her. Persephone twirled, letting herself descend to the ground and rise again, going faster as the bit of the music when faster. The veil went around her curves softly, hiding and showing her for no one to see. She went like this for some hours, she couldn't bring herself to stop, she felt alive and free. She wished she had gotten the courage to open those pieces of furniture sooner. Back home she used to dance at least three times a week, so she could spend an entire day at it, but it had been far more than a week since she last danced, and she easily got tired.

Eventually Persephone stopped dancing and went back to one of her big pillows to lay down for a bit. Her breath was hoarse and her skin shone due to the sweat, but she was smiling brighter than she ever did in her time there. Soon she fell into a resting sleep, not even taking in notice that the light coming from there wasn't fiery anymore, it was already night. Time just flew by her.

* * *

Hades sat back on his throne after visiting Zeus, smirking widely at the memory of his red face. His chores in the Underworld would start in some minutes so he decided to watch how his wife was doing from a hologram, he would not make the same mistake he had done that morning. The first image he got was of the screen in the Arabian room, the shadow of a feminine body moving was outlined in it. Hades' eyes went wide, he gulped, 'What is she doing?' he asked to himself, intrigued by what he was seeing. Sooner than he had expected, Persephone stepped outside from behind the screen, Hades had to close his mouth shut, for he felt his insides twist. She looked fairer than any nymph or Aphrodite that could be presented to him, he would pick Persephone over any other woman.

Not wanting to tear his eyes much longer from the scene, Hades went to one of his guards and said that he would not be available for the rest of the day. With that, he made his way back to his chambers. He wanted to see this alone and without any interruptions. Once there, he sat on one of his armchairs and, turning on the hologram once more, he watch Persephone dance. It wasn't the first time he had seen her dance, he had watched her before. She must have been about sixteen years old at the time, she was with one of the muses. Even then she had beauty, dancing elegantly in the middle of a green meadow, it was then that he started looking at her more like a woman. After that he would never let Zeus go back on his word.

He watched her dance to the rhythm of the song that was being played. He was thankful he had gotten those gifts for her. In the begging, apart from knowing that she liked music and dancing, he had been afraid that she would destroy the rest of the furniture, but her smile had proved him wrong. She smiled ever so brightly, she seemed happy. He spent the next hours just watching her dance. He didn't care about the line of souls piling up at his door, if they wished they could see it as an extra punishment.

Round and round she danced, that plum veil and her light brown hair moving along with her. Her sensual curves moving at the same speed as the song. Hades' desire started taking control of his thoughts again, and when she fell asleep he decided that that pillow wasn't going to do much for her back. That was more of an excuse he had come up with so he wouldn't fell has guilty about what he was going to do.

Appearing in the Arabian room, he turned off the musical instrument with soft wave of his hand. Silently he made his way to where she was sleeping. Once he was near her, Hades got himself on one knee, admiring her sleeping face, but having some difficulty in taking his eyes off her body. His mismatching eyes traveled slowly down her curves, the dark light of the room set on her fair skin perfectly and that outfit looked far better in person than on those holograms of his. With his arms, Hades picked Persephone up, one arm behind her back and the other behind her legs. Her head fell on his shoulder, unconsciously adapting to the curve of his neck, and her left arm was left dangling down. He had to restrain himself from gripping her body tighter to him, her perfume was intoxicating.

With enough care to not wake her up and with ease, Hades took her back to her bedroom, back to her bed so she would be more comfortable. The distance was quite short, for this time he walked instead of dissolving in the air. Quietly, he set her down in the silk sheets and tried something he had been thinking about for a while. Softly, after sitting on the edge of the bed, he let his index finger slide from the side of her slender neck to the end of her cleavage, sending very small jolts of energy as his skin touched hers. Still sleeping, Persephone arched a back ever so slightly, her lips parting to a small moan that escaped them. Hades smirked, she responded well to his touch. Tucking her in her bed, he bent down and kissed her cherry lips, but with lightly, he really didn't want to wake her.

With a smile, Hades dissolved from his wife's chambers and back to his own. Hopefully, soon they would become hers as well.

* * *

The morning came, the fiery light hitting Persephone's features, softly prying her eyes open. She felt a bit sore from all those hours of dancing, but a smile was still playing on her lips. Once her eyes adjusted to the light that came from the big windows she realized that she wasn't in the Arabian room anymore, she was in her bedroom, and certainly on her bed, but she didn't remember the first having a bed and silk sheets. Persephone also didn't remember coming back to her room, and she certainly didn't remember falling asleep on her bed. Another thing was off, her lips held a tingling sensation, the brunette crooked an eyebrow, 'Hm...' was the only sound that came from her. She thought she had dreamed about Hades sitting next to her while she slept, apparently it hadn't been a dream at all. He had really been there, and most likely he had been the one taking back to her room.

Persephone felt angry, but she didn't know exactly why. It still bothered her that Hades hadn't come up to her to give some explanations on what was happening and he had taken away her privacy, the jewels and the dresses weren't helping her judgment either. So far the only thing she was grateful for where the dancing outfits, but how did he know that she used to dance? She still was pondering if she should get mad at him to take her back to her bedroom while she slept. She did feel thankful, sleeping on that pillow wouldn't do wonders for her back, but on the other hand, knowing that Hades had touched her made Persephone feel uncomfortable and made her cheeks turn hot. Her skin crawled at the thought, she didn't know why. Persephone had never felt that way before, she had only seen him once and she was so young at time. She didn't know whether she should feel thankful or mad at him, or both at the same time.

Finally she got up from her bed, the dress she had worn the previous day had been set on her bed. She smiled, she didn't have to wear a revealing dress. Grabbing it she made her way to the bathing, knowing that Agathe had already left it in order for her use. She let herself sink into the hot water, staying there more than usual. Once her muscles were relaxed enough and the soreness slowly faded away. She felt refreshed, but the tingling sensation still lingered on her lips.

Dressed in the red velvet gown and with sandals on her feet, Persephone made her way to the Arabian room. Breakfast was already set up on the table, but before she ate something, the brunette put the dancing outfit in the commode she had found it in, taking great care not to damage it in any way possible. Lying down on her usual pillow, she started her meal with a piece of bread.

* * *

Meanwhile, at surface, Zeus was yelling at Demeter because of her behavior. Both of them stood tall facing each other in the God's throne room. The sky had been covered with dark thunderous clouds, a storm was going to break at any minute. 'What were you thinking woman?! Do you not know what consequences could your greediness cause?!' asked the mighty God to his sister. 'Why didn't you keep your part of the bargain?', 'Because I NEVER agreed to it! You were the one making the decisions, you never asked me for an opinion on the matter! She is my daughter and you practically sold her to Hades!' she accused him, her voice rising at a point that it was as loud as his. Zeus grabbed her arms, fingers clutching hard at her muscles and shaking her twice before making the blue eyed Goddess look at him, 'Demeter, it was either that or having her dead and Cronus loose to create havoc or did you forget Titanomachy? Do you really wish for Hades to let him loose? You are pushing the limits, you should have told her of what she was meant for. Hades can easily let Cronus and the rest out of Tartarus out if things don't turn out so well for him' said Zeus far from sternly, he had no patience for her whims, _'How could I have gotten into bed with her?!' _he asked himself, mentally hitting his head against a marble column. Demeter just glared at him, hot tears streaming down her red cheeks. Persephone was her daughter, hand hers alone, she wanted back home, back with her and away from Hades. Zeus, fearing that he might do something reckless if she opened her mouth to speak again, sent her away from his sight. Demeter just fumed away, breaking several pieces of pottery that crossed her path.

* * *

Back in the Underworld, their daughter sat on one of the pillows contemplating on what she should do next. March into the throne room or not? The idea of making a scene was so tempting, but maybe it was also a good option to explore a bit first. She had already been there for a week, but her mood never let her go beyond the short distance she usually made. It wasn't fear, maybe it was lack of motivation, being taken to Hades' palace without a reason didn't motivate much, nor did his behavior. If he didn't come to her, maybe she should go to him, ask him the questions that haunted her mood, but first she wanted to test something.

Agathe should be arriving at any moment, and so she did. 'My lady, is there anything that you need or wish for?' asked the servant, respectfully as usual. 'Yes, there is', at this the spirit looked at the brunette surprised, she usually didn't ask for anything. 'I wish to know when will my _dear_ uncle decide to tell me what he wants from me' said Persephone with just a small bit of sarcasm tinting her voice. Agathe just smiled and dissolved in the air, leaving the Goddess with her mouth wide open at the ghost's reaction, 'She certainly hates me, there can't be any other reason why she does this to me, it can't' she exclaimed to herself in protest.

Deciding that she had had enough of the soul's behavior and Hades' attitude, Persephone got to her feet and went on what she should have done the first day, explore and look for him for answers. She was tired of waiting for them to come. She made her way down the corridor, its decoration was similar to her bedroom, there were great scenes carved and painted on white on the walls, some of them she could recognize, they had Cronus imprisonment in Tartarus, Atlas punishment and many other great marks of the Olympian History. At the end of the corridor she came faced with a great hall with enormous black columns rose up to the ceiling. Instead of being round like the one she had seen at the Olympus, this hall had a pentagonal shape, each wall with a pair of ebony doors, just like the ones of her room.

A gray line of souls formed from one door to its opposite, and by its direction, she could tell that they were being dropped off by Charon on the left side and heading in the direction of Hades' throne room at the right side. At each door there was a couple of guards, they also were souls. Thinking she could just enter without warning, Persephone made her way to the throne room, she was just about to enter when one of the guards grabbed her arm. 'My lady, please go back to your chambers, his Lordship won't appreciate having you in there' he said with a warning tone. 'Why?!' she asked incredulously, 'Please my lady, I have explicit orders to not let you in there, I'll be in great trouble if I let you in', he continued, he didn't want to be the one disobeying Hades. Persephone pursed her lips, she wanted to go in there, she needed to speak to him.

Turning away without another word, she made her saw Cerberus. The three-headed beast was sitting in the middle of the hall, and seemed to be indicating each soul to which door they should go to. Most of them went to the throne room, sometimes she forgot what the world had turned into. The sinful world seemed more appealing each day ever since Pandora had opened that box. People were left to starve while others slept soundly on what they had stolen, people found enjoyment our torturing the innocent and the pure. Most of the souls glared at her, others undressed her with their eyes, but they didn't make her uncomfortable, they soon would be paying for whatever they had done during their short lives. Just by watching them she could guess which ones were rotten and the ones that were clean.

Interestingly, one of the souls, which were on their way to face Hades' judgment, seemed to be scared, there was no evil in her, what emanated from her was sorrow and pain. _'What has the girl done?' _asked Persephone mentally, walking up to the girl. Tapping on her shoulder, she said in a warm manner 'Hello there, what are you doing here girl? You don't seem to belong in this line', the young girl looked up to the brunette, mouth agape, 'Who wants to know the story of a slave?' the girl asked quietly, 'I do' answered the stranger, 'You can call me Persephone and your name is...?' she finished with a smile, 'Nysa, my lady' the girl answered quietly. 'So Nysa, what has brought you to Hades' presence?' asked the lady with curiosity, to which the slave answered 'I got pregnant out of wedlock, my lady'. Persephone crocked her eyebrow, trying to her a better view of what had gone wrong. 'I would really like you to tell me your story, I would like to understand you' said the brunette with a kind smile. The girl was hesitant, she didn't know whether she should tell or not, but she was already dead, she hoped that she could buy her way to the Elysian Fields by working has a servant in the house of Hades. 'I ended my own life, my lady. I was part of a very important family in Athens, had many suitors but I fell in love with only one of them. I felt as if nothing could go wrong when we were together and some months nothing did. That is, until I got pregnant. My family felt ashamed of my behavior, not even married and already with child. They didn't aloud the child to live, as soon as they got the news they had a healer killing the baby, they wouldn't have a bastard in their house. The next day I found out that I had been sold out to slavery. My heart couldn't bear it any longer, my lover hadn't given any news, my child was taken away from me not even being born yet and seeing my life and hopes thrown away into slavery made me consider ending my being. And so I did, I grabbed an old dagger and slit my wrists open, letting the blood get drained from my body. I knew that I was never going to be sent to the Elysian Fields, but I didn't care, I had no more reasons to live among the living' the girl finished her tragedy. Persephone only stared at her, she didn't deserve to get locked up in Tartarus, she just hoped Hades took on account everything that she said. 'Everything will turn out for the best, one day, maybe, you'll get reunited with your child in the Elysian Fields. If you get to serve here in the palace, please come to me, I'll make sure you'll be under my watch. Good luck' finished Persephone with a kind smile, seeing that she was next in line for the judgment. 'Thank you very much, my lady.' smiled Nysa, before turning away and entering the room. From where she was, Persephone could see Hades sitting on his black throne looking very powerful and cunning, he didn't seem to acknowledge her presence, seeming to be very focused on his chore. The thoughts of that morning came back to her, so did the blush of her cheeks.

Trying to regain some composure, Persephone changed her attention to Cerberus, '_Will he bite me if I try to pet him?' _she inquired herself, eyeing the dog of three heads. He was all black and had all of his six eyes closed, he was similar to a Rottweiler, but without the brown marks and the fur was longer. Just like the owner, the canine had a powerful presence. She slowly approached him. The dog, knowing that she was there, bowed all of his heads, like he was waiting for her to pet him. That she did, her hand, small in comparison to the massive dog's heads, scratched behind the left ear of the middle head. With her other hand, Persephone did the same to the right head, but the last one, looking jealous of the attention the other two were getting, made the body jump on Persephone. She was shocked at first, but started laughing when the head started licking her face, along with the other two that had joined soon after. Once the heads got tired, they let the Goddess get to her feet again. The line coming from Charon was piling up with souls, she should get going and stop keeping the loving dog from his work. Although she doubted he minded the attention.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Hades had felt his wife's energy nearby, he wasn't expecting it at all. She had kept herself in her rooms for the whole week. Keeping his attention focused on her energy, he listened to what she said to the ones around her. Mentally, he thanked the guard for not letting her inside the throne room, he didn't want her there just yet. He still had to break to her the reasons why she was there.

_Accidentally_, Hades eavesdropped on Persephone's last statement. He found it interesting that she had found, among all of those damned souls, one that didn't belong there. She was proving, without even knowing, to be worth of being the Queen of the Underworld. Her words seemed to be truthful, but he had to put them to the test and see for himself if her judgment was fair. Through the door came the spirit of a young girl, Hades crooked his eyebrow,_ 'They usually don't come to be judged so young' _he thought to himself. The soul looked miserable and somewhat innocent, but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions just now. He had already seen too many specters act on emotions they didn't have, trying to play him for a fool, and a fool he was not. All that had tried to lie to him where now burning in the depths of Tartarus.

The girl, whose name he had learned to be Nysa, had told him the exact same story she had told Persephone. The Moirai, crippled by time and experience, confirmed the slave's story. His wife had been right, she didn't belong among those damned souls, but he couldn't just let her go to the Elysian Fields either. Maybe he could replace Agathe by this young soul,_ 'I think she would appreciate that'_ referring to Persephone in thought. 'Very well, Nysa. You shall be escorted to lady Persephone's bed chambers and wait for her there, she'll be the one giving you the orders' said Hades in a powerful manner and, before some misunderstandings could be made, he called up Agathe to inform her that she would be now attending the kitchens. The soul didn't look too satisfied with the arrangements, but she couldn't complain, anything would be better than the flames of Tartarus.

That morning's judgments finished with Nysa's. Hades thought it would be a good idea to check on the light brown-haired Goddess. He wanted to dine with her that day. But first, he had to find her.

* * *

Persephone wondered around the numerous corridors of the palace, all of them looked very similar to each other, the difference remained in the scenes engraved on the walls. She noticed that, in one large corridor there were still some clean walls, like they were waiting for new marks of the Olympian History. After an hour of exploring, she felt tired and decided it would be for the best if she went back to her room. Maybe Nysa was there waiting for her, at least she hoped so. Turning around to head back, she stopped, realizing that she had forgotten her way back. Taking notice of her mistake, she slapped her forehead. 'Stupid...' she murmured to herself, 'Now you've done it Persephone' she continued scolding herself. Looking at the path she had come from, the brunette tried to remember the sequence of scenes she had seen on the wall. She knew she was bad when it came to special orientation, 'Why did I do this? Oh! Right... I was _curious_. They do say that curiosity killed the cat...' she continued on grumbling.

After several turns, none seeming to lead her back to the great Hall, she noticed that one of the ebony doors was opened. 'Strange, it wasn't like this ten minutes ago' she said frowning. After looking at the walls and understanding that she did not recognize them at all, she took on another possible conclusion 'Or I am lost. Again...' Nobody was around, so she thought that there was no wrong in going inside to see what kind of room it was. Stepping inside with caution, she looked around to see if it was occupied, it wasn't. It seemed to be an ample ball room, with a line of seven big windows on the end, near each window there were some lit candles. The black marble ground shone, its stars glittered as the light from the candles hit them. Persephone noticed, through its reflection on the ground, that there were some paintings on the ceiling. Getting curious, again, she made the motion to walk further, but after three steps she felt the air getting knocked out of her lungs as she fell inside a warm liquid.

* * *

Hades had been invisible while he followed Persephone, this time he had his black helmet on, which made him unseen to any mortal or immortal being. He found it entertaining to study her reaction to her current situation. Once she got into the pool room, Hades decided to turn himself into an old disfigured man covered in dark dirty rags, before following her steps. When the dark God was at the door he heard a small feminine yelp, _'You have got to be kidding me, she didn't see the pool?!' _he exclaimed mentally as he stepped inside and stood by the edge. It didn't take her two seconds to emerge, taking an anxious and very deep breath in the progress, with her wet hair covering her face like a dark curtain. Hades grabbed both of her arms and pulled his wife up. She didn't protested, just coughed a bit.

After calming down and regaining her breath, Persephone looked up to him and let out a small breath, 'Can you at least have the decency to show your real form?' she asked in annoyance, while sitting and starting twisting her hair, trying to get all of the water out of it, always looking up at him. With that, Hades dissolved back into his true form, clad in a black leather outfit and smirking widely. 'You didn't get scared' he stated, still smirking, 'I've seen worse than that' she admitted plainly. Persephone was staring at him impatiently, if she was there as a whore or wife, or whatever she was, she didn't know anymore. She wondered if he would make his move and take advantage of the opportunity or not. After a while she demanded, 'I want to know when you are done waiting and tell me what you want from me', that turned his smirking face into a frowning one, he looked like he had been hit by a rock. _'What does she mean with that?!'_, Hades stared at her for some moments, not really knowing exactly what to say. He didn't want her to do anything, at least right away. The next words that came from his mouth were the stupidest he could have said, 'Well... I would appreciate if you, from now on, would stop destroying the furniture'. They obviously weren't thinking about the same thing.

Having had enough of his behavior, Persephone started undoing the piece of silk that kept her wet dress closed. She would have succeeded in undressing herself if Hades hadn't caught her hands first. He was eyeing her as if she had grown a second head, 'What the heck are you doing woman?!' he asked her, making the brunette look up at him. She was a lot shorter than the God, she maybe reached his chin. Persephone's blood started to boil in her veins, her face turning red with anger, 'Just stop with this joke and go on and rape me, I already know I'm here for you to use. I'm not an idiot, might as well go and get this over with' she facing him. His face grew back to the dumfounded expression that he had held a few moments earlier, _'Nice piece of work you've left for me, Demeter. Really, nice work... She thinks I want her for just for sex!'_ Mentally, Hades was launching Cerberus at his sister, while he gently closed Persephone's dress. The wet fabric clung to her body tightly, exposing her well-shaped curves. She had a small waist, which accentuated her chest, which wasn't too big, but it wasn't small either. For him, it had just the right size. But Hades had to control his thoughts, he didn't want her to have any more wrong impressions. Calming himself down a bit, the blond God said 'I'm sorry Persephone, but that isn't my intention. Did you enjoy the gifts I've given you?' that was in hopes of successfully changing the subject, but never letting go of her hands. It didn't turn out as he expected, the Goddess didn't seem to have listened to him, for the next thing that came out of her mouth angered him. 'Are you gay?' she asked shocked, face contorted in surprise, _'The Lord of the Underworld isn't interested in women?'_ she asked herself. Hades eyes flared open, _'What?!' _ he thought, while his blood temperature started to rise.

Grabbing hold of her slim waist with one hand and her neck with the other, he turned them around, holding her up against the cold marble wall, while pressing his body firmly to hers. Without applying excessive force, he just used enough to hold her in place, preventing her from struggling against his hold. Persephone's cheeks started to turn red, her body began to heat up and her heart beat to reach her ears. She had never been in a situation like that one, she didn't know how to react, maybe it had not been such a bright idea to provoke him. Bringing his lips close to her right ear, Hades said lowly, his hot breath tickling her neck, 'No, dear Persephone. But if I have chosen a wife, I want her to come around on her own will. Whores have been always ease to find and I have had many, but none of them had the fire that you possess, my wife'. The way he spoke made her skin crawl, so tempting and yet terrifying. Hades let go of her throat, letting his index finger descend, teasingly, from her chin, down her neck and traveling to the center of her cleavage, where her necklaces was. Along the way he sent very small jolts of energy through her, liking the way her soft skin felt against his own. The hand on hear waist never left its place, having his thumb drawing small circles where it lay. Persephone's breath hitched a bit, she almost forgot how to get air into her lungs. She aimlessly tried to maintain her composer, or at least what was left of it. Words seemed to be locked inside her mouth, unable to come out.

Happy with the reaction he had gotten from her, Hades snapped his fingers, grinning triumphantly. On his hand a soft black towel with silver writings appeared. Finally letting go of her, he carefully wrapped the fabric around the damp brunette that was in front of him. 'There are some important matters we need to discuss. We shall take care of them as we dine tonight. I'll dine with you in the Arabian room. Do you have anything you wish to eat?' He asked her, casually and smiling, as if Persephone hadn't been naked in front of him some moments prior. Still recovering, Persephone answered, though a bit apprehensive, 'I'll leave it for you to choose. By the way, I have a question to make', 'Go ahead, dear' he said to her, starting to lead her, arm around her slim waist, back to her room. 'Have you spoken to my mother about this?', she asked, wondering how she had reacted to the new arrangements. 'Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. Everything's alright with her, the same I can't say about the house. I've noticed that you two share the same tendency to destroy furniture and decoration' he informed her as he glanced down at her, smirking and testing her temper. Persephone's brown eyes only glared up at him, smoke coming out of her ears and daggers coming out of her eyes. Hades decided it would be safer if he dropped that part of the discussion and continued 'It won't do her any harm to pull some of her hair off head and to start learning how to live by herself. Maybe her egoistical behavior will stop. Eventually…' and, with that, they were in front of her door. _'That was quick'_ she thought to herself, for the trip she had made seemed much longer. Hades continued talking as he turned her to him again, arm locking her waist firmly, grazing the fingers of his free lastingly along her lower lip and with his face inches from hers, 'But have in mind that, for now, the only thing I wish from is your company, nothing else. I'll see you tonight my dear' and with that he dissolved into the air, smiling.

* * *

Persephone was fuming, she had never seen someone as full of himself as her _husband _was, and her only decent dress was ruined. Walking into her bedroom, the Goddess came faced with the translucent figure of Nysa, one that looked much lighter than the one she had seen in that damned line. The young soul smiled kindly at the woman, 'Hello my lady, his Lordship said you were the one that would supervise me, my lady. I'm here as a replacement of Agathe, I believe that's her name', said the servant showing more joyful emotions, 'Yes Nysa, that's her name. I'm very glad that Hades has given you a chance to someday go to the Elysian Fields' answered Persephone politely in return. She was about to say something else when, all of sudden, the former slave disappeared from her sight, _'These people have to stop going away like this' _she thought dramatically. In some seconds, the girl came back with a new towel and a comb, 'Sorry my lady, but if you continue in that state you'll get ill' she said with in a worried tone of voice.

Persephone sat on her bed after taking the ruined dress off and wrapping a dry towel around herself. Nysa stood beside her combing all the knots, that had been formed, off her hair, the Goddess thanked her for this. 'My lady, excuse me if I'm being rude or bold in anyway, but why are you here? I don't wish to pry in your life, but the stories that I heard when I was a child told that you lived with your mother, Demeter', inquired the girl in a low voice, afraid to disrespect her lady in any way. 'It's alright Nysa. You told me your story, it's only fair that I tell you mine, but as much as I loved to, I can't. I don't even know why I am here, but I think that I'll find it out tonight' said Persephone in a calm tone, the glassy figured only breathed out a small _Oh _sound. 'And speaking about tonight, it appears that Hades wants to have supper with me in the Arabian room, I need you to help me choose something as decent as possible out of that deplorable wardrobe', said the Goddess pointing in the direction of the piece of furniture, 'The only respectable gown that it had got ruined and I don't remember seeing anything similar', she said. Nysa laughed a bit shyly and floated on that direction, opening the doors of the piece of furniture. She was determined to do everything she was required to as perfectly as possible, or even when she wasn't asked to, she decided that she would prove herself worthy to serve the Goddess.

After several minutes of searching, she had three dresses across the bed for Persephone to try and choose from. They were of different colors and shapes. One was cool gray, it came to her feet flowing, seeming to be very light. She liked the color and the fabric but it was too revealing, the neckline was too deep and nothing covered her back. The second was pure white from the bust down, with gold metal covering the chest and surrounding the hem of the back, she liked it, had nothing against it, but was afraid to look like a bride. She still was processing the idea of being somebody's _wife_, that somebody being Hades. She wasn't going to look like a bride if she had never felt like one. Well, it was better to be the wife rather than the whore. The last was a one shoulder gown, starting with a dark blue color at the top ending with royal blue at the bottom, it had several thin layers of fabric on the skirt and the waist had a band of silver embroiderers. The later didn't have any flaws that she could point, and she quite liked it, Persephone wondered how she hadn't seen it before. Nysa put the dress on a chair, letting it there until it was time to get her lady ready for supper.

Wanting to rest for a bit, the Goddess didn't left her bedroom for the rest of the day, her lunch was served there. She took the opportunity to learn more about Nysa's living life, to her the girl seemed to be eager to learn and do well while serving there, she also hoped that she could find in her a friend apart from a servant.

The days she had spent alone between the two rooms were dreading, time seemed to extend itself. Time never goes as we planned it to be, when we want it to never end, it's quickly over but, when we want it over, it drags itself. It's like a pesky child, always doing the opposite of what it is told to do. Talking with Nysa made time flew, and when they noticed, the fiery light of day had already ceased. It was time to get Persephone ready for dinner. They made their way to a dressing table that had some hair accessories and perfumes, the brunette had never paid much attention to it, she usually just used it to comb her hair. Carefully, Nysa began to arrange the Goddess's hair, making some braids at the top and letting the rest of the light brown hair fall down, framing Persephone's face perfectly. For someone who had been brought up in a wealth family, the girl seemed very skilled doing a servant's work, and most surprisingly, she didn't show any kind of arrogance. After that, Persephone got dressed with ease and put some sandals on, thanking Nysa and dismissing her for the night with a kind smile.

* * *

Hades' day, unlike Persephone's, went by very slowly, so slowly that it became almost painful. The line of souls seemed longer than usual and the hours dragged themselves, even Thanatos' presence was becoming unsettling, normally the black figure didn't bother him the slightest but that day the only person whose company he wanted was Persephone's. He loved the look she had gotten on her face, she appeared to have lost her ability to speak and react, but he had also loved to see the way the fabric of the dress clung to her body, making her hourglass shape stand out in a way that none of the dresses he had given her did. With this, the image of the Goddess becoming bare before him came to his mind again, _'Control yourself Hades!'_ his mind screamed at him. He had to keep his word to her, for now he just wanted her company, nothing else. Or that's what he wanted to believe he wanted, in reality he wanted much more, but he didn't dare to rape her, nor did he want to. He might be the God of the Underworld, but he had been lonesome for far too long, whores didn't offer him any kind of company, just some heated hours in his bed. He needed more than that, and for that he needed to be patient. Hades believed that mortals had an expression that said that _'Patience is a virtue'_, the thing was that he wasn't known to be a very patient God, far from it, but one way or another, he would have to be one. It would have to be that or spend the rest of eternity in solitude because his wife hated him.

After judging the rest of the souls he had that day and after a meeting with his helpers, he made his way to his chambers, he needed a cold bath before meeting her. Instead of wearing a full leather attire like normally, he chose to wear a black tunic with his leather trousers and boots. He wouldn't be needing his helmet or anything else. Once done, he dissolved appearing at the door of the Arabian room.

* * *

Persephone sat on one of the pillows that were near the short table. The food had already been set up. There were about four different platters of food, one had some chops of roasted lamb platted with some pomegranate rubies; to garnish the meat there were several different vegetables on other plate, all roasted as well. The other two had bread and fruits, that went from green grapes to big apples. She had some questions that she wanted answers for, she just had to wait for his arrival to ask them. But while waiting, Persephone thought it would be a good distraction for her to turn on the star-shaped musical instrument. When she was going to sit back on the soft pillow, the door opened.

Hades came through the threshold, in an outfit that resembled the one she had first seen him in. He had a smug grin on his face, Persephone became irritated the second she saw it, _'This should be interesting' _she thought to herself. 'Hello Persephone, may I say that you look wonderful this evening' he while coming in her direction. The brunette didn't make the slightest motion to meet him, she just sat there glaring at him, she was waiting for him to start explaining. Seeing that his compliment hadn't had any effect on his wife, Hades sat down in a pillow that was opposite to hers. She had her arms crossed and looked like she was waiting, impatiently for something. 'Well?' she asked while her eyebrows went up her forehead in a suggestive manner. 'Well what?' he asked back, not really understanding what she wanted. 'You said you would dine with me because we had important issues to discuss, so I'm waiting to discuss them' she pointed out to him. Hades only looked at her, _'She is determined, I'll give her that'_ he admitted to himself, lowering his head down for a second before looking back at her, 'I was planning on discussing them _after_ we ate, but if you are so eager to start, we'll shall do it while we eat', he said huffing, by this point the smug smirk had left his face to appear in hers.

They were serving their silver plates while Persephone began her questioning, 'First I want to know why I was sent here', 'To be my wife' he answered plainly as if it was obvious, while taking a bite of the lamb, 'The lamb's delicious don't you think?' he asked trying in vain to change the subject, she didn't seem to hear him. 'That I already know', she answered in annoyance, 'But why?' she insisted. The blond God breath out, she wouldn't let him eat in peace until she got what she wanted, _'I wonder if she is this demanding in other areas of life'_ thought Hades tiredly. 'You're not going to let me enjoy our supper will you?' he asked her, 'Well, I will... but after you answer every question I have to ask' replied Persephone smirking. Hades just stared at her blankly, he was starting to lose his patience. So, in attempts of remaining what was left of it, he took a very big deep breath. 'Huff... Very well, but remember, you were the one insisting' replied Hades pointing a finger on her direction. With this Hades began to explain why her father had sent her there, to be Hades wife. What had been the price Zeus had chosen to pay him to have Cronus and the other Titans imprisoned in Tartarus. At the time he didn't want anything in return, he wanted the peace back as much as the rest of his siblings. It had been Zeus who had come up with the idea of marriage as a guarantee of peace, but he only came up with the idea after the brunette's birth, to assure that the deal wouldn't be broken and that his firstborn would have her future guaranteed. He didn't want another Demeter on the loose. One was meant so much trouble, two would be chaos.

Persephone sat quietly listening to everything, while taking everything in her mind it seemed to make some sense. Once finished, Hades eyed her with caution, but her face was blank, in color and expression. There were some moments before she said anything else, she could only guess why her mother hadn't said something about that to her. She had always referred to her daughter as if she was an object, something that belonged to her. She understood what her father had done, but if she was happy with it? No, she wasn't. Taking a deep breath and recollecting her thoughts, she finally said something. 'Thank you, for telling…' she breathed out lowly, she would have to think about that when she was alone, he was staring at her way too much for her to concentrate properly. 'You're welcome, but it should have been Demeter telling you the reason why' he said in a calm yet stern voice before questioning with a small smirk 'Can I eat now my dear?', Persephone let a small smile graze her lips.

Hades thought that that had been a positive answer, he was about to eat a piece of roasted carrot when the brunette's spoke again, 'I still have two more questions', 'Go ahead, but I warn you, I don't like my food cold, so they better be short ones' he retorted back. 'The first is, how did you know that I like to dance?' at this the dark God took a dry gulp _'She's going to kill me'_, but putting on an act he answered 'Well, I did some _research _while you grew up. I had to know what I was getting myself into', Persephone frowned at that and taking a VERY deep breath, 'Will I be able to go to the surface any time soon?' she inquired plainly. Knowing that she would end up yelling at him sooner or later, might as well get it over with, 'Yes, you can go to the surface but you'll have to come back here always' he answered her with a serious voice. The Goddess's brows turned into a deeper frown, her blood starting to boil again that day, she was stuck there, 'And why is that?!' she asked outraged, Hades looked at her blankly and answered 'Once you've eaten any kind of fruit, from the Underworld it will make you always come back, you won't live very long in the living world. I believe that the very first thing you ate were pomegranates'. Persephone's skin was warming fast, 'WHAT?!'' she screamed, 'You heard me very well the first time, my dear'.

The next moments all Tartarus broke loose. The brunette started throwing things at him, yelling profanities and throwing what was on the table at him. Apparently, that night he would have to sleep with an empty stomach. His thoughts ceased when he felt one of the platters hit is chest, looking down at his attire he noticed that he was covered in food. He quickly looked up and saw that she was heading to the commode that contained the dancing outfits. She, as much as he would love to, certainly wasn't going to dance for him and that meant that she was going to get one of the swords. Before she got to them, Hades dissolved appearing in front of his wife and grabbed her arms. This time Persephone struggled against his strong hold, making her fists clash against his hard chest, still screaming utterances at him. If she was any other woman and if the circumstances were any different Hades would have had her sent away that instance, but with Persephone he couldn't do that. 'Let go of me!' she demanded still struggling, 'I will once you calm down and stop hitting me like I'm the only culprit. I understand your angry, you have every right to do that, but acting this way won't make things any better' he retorted back aloud, shaking her a couple of times in the process. Persephone only glared at him now, hot tears sliding down her red features. Hades waited a few moments until he was certain it was safe enough to let go of her. She seemed to be calmer, but her cheeks were still red and stained from her tears. He wanted to help her, but didn't quite know how to, maybe she should take some rest. 'Maybe it's better for you to retire to you bedroom, my dear. Get some rest' said Hades softly, before hocking an arm around her waist to lead her back to her room. She felt numb against him. Once at her door, the God opened it and led her inside. Turning her to him, he softly kissed her forehead before whispering 'Goodnight' and dissolving away.

Persephone didn't say one word through the whole process, she couldn't find any words that could be expressed. They were locked between the numerous thoughts that were inside her brain. It seemed that all that had happened during that week, from the beginning to its end, had come crashing down on her. She felt weak and exhausted, drained from all energy. She knew she couldn't blame only him, her parents were also to blame. They just weren't there for her to explode upon. Slowly taking off her dress, Persephone didn't even bother to get a nightgown, she just went to bed bare, wrapped in silk sheets, to a dreamless and numb sleep.

* * *

In the following morning Nysa stood waiting for her lady to call for her. She didn't know when Persephone usually woke up, so this time she would have to wait for directions. Maybe it would be a good idea for her to ask the Goddess about her routine and her preferences so she wouldn't do anything to displease her. Her thoughts were interrupted by the stern voice of Hades calling her name. He didn't seem to be in a good mood, she'd better hurry. Quickly she dissolved from the spot she was standing on and meet the dark God's presence in the room, where she had been judged. He was sitting on the throne, looking cold and austere, Nysa gulped. _'Oh dear, what have I done wrong? Did he regret not sending me to Tartarus?'_ these were some of the thoughts that crossed the former slave's mind in that moment. Taking a quick look around the ample room, she noticed that Hades' helpers weren't anywhere to be seen, that was odd. _'What does he want?'_ she wondered. Some seconds after the God spoke, 'Nysa, you are to tell lady Persephone that, from tomorrow on, she shall take her meals in one of my rooms, with me. Also inform her that I'll be the one escorting her there', to which the servant only replied politely, bowing her head, 'As you wish, my lord'. Hades didn't say anything else for a short while and Nysa, not knowing what to do, asked 'Is there anything else, my lord?', the blond God looked up at her blankly, 'Yes there is, I want you to keep Persephone company at any given time, unless she asks otherwise. But don't tell her this', Nysa wanted to ask why, but she knew that it wasn't her place to ask, he seemed to be in a bad mood, she didn't want to push her luck. 'I'll do as you ask, my lord' she answered bowing her head once more. 'You may go now, she should be waking up' he said, dismissing the soul.

Once Nysa was gone, Hades still stood on his throne, thinking about what had happened the night before. Until that night, he had been wondering when she would break down completely and, when she did, he didn't know what to do. He only held her in place and waited for her to calm down. He got to the conclusion that he should have told her everything since the day she got there. That was the reason he was in such a bad mood that day, plus he had to check on Tartarus to see how things were going, to see if The Hecatonchires were doing their job right. He loathed the place, but it was an important part of his duties, he couldn't just decide not to go, he had been postponing his visit for about two weeks, it was time to go. This was also one of the reasons why he had told Nysa that their meals would start on the following day, one other reason being that he thought it would be best for her to cool down first. Had it not been for Demeter's egoistical behavior and supper probably would have gone much smoother, at one point he had made her laugh, but that was thrown away when she heard all the rest. He hoped that the next day's meals would be more rewarding, maybe he could show her the palace's indoor garden. But in that moment, it was time to go to Tartarus.

* * *

Persephone woke up and the day light was already strong. She didn't feel as numb as she did several hours prior. They say that sleep is the best adviser, helps the day's thoughts to connect and get organized, helps people to think clearer. That night Persephone had dreamed of sitting on a throne next to Hades, the ample room lighted with several torches, she remembered being contempt while ruling the Underworld beside him. She understood what it meant, she just didn't know if she wanted it. Persephone understood well what had happened the night before and what was told to her, but she had never asked for any of this. Her mother could have told her something, she should have not let her go that blinded.

The brunette didn't wish to be alone in the palace, one week had been enough. Sitting up in bed she called Nysa. Immediately, the kind soul appeared before her. 'Good morning, my lady' she said with a small smile, Persephone returned it but hers was almost nonexistent, 'Good morning Nysa, can you prepare the bath, please?' she asked quietly, still having the night's thoughts running through her head. 'Yes, my lady. But I think that you'll have to teach me how do you like it' she said in an embarrassed tone of voice. The Goddess let out a small laugh, mostly at herself, 'For a second I forgot that I never told you any of that, it's my fault for not paying much attention, I'm so sorry. Well get to it right now' she said with a smile on her face, her mood improving a bit with the sudden realization. After that, Persephone explained everything that Nysa needed to know on her time there, everything from baths, food, clothes, routines, etc. Meanwhile, the ghostly servant made mental notes of everything, afraid that she might forget something.

While Nysa prepared Persephone's bath, the Goddess stood in front one of the windows, dressed in a satin robe. The view was strange, she couldn't see where the fiery light came from, she could only see clouds of smoke tainted with oranges and reds, it was different from the blue sky she was used to, but it was a spectacular sight nonetheless. The light moved gently through the clouds, different shades hitting the dark walls of her room, making the small crystals glitter. This was the first time she had gotten curious about what lay beyond her windows. Her contemplation ended when Nysa called her name, her bath was ready. While the lady took her bath, the servant careful picked something as simple as possible from the wardrobe and some matching sandals, after that she made her lady's bed, changing the dark blue sheets to silver ones and leaving it without any wrinkles. Afterwards, Persephone came through the bathing room door, got herself dressed and once more, at the dressing table, Nysa combed and dried her lady's hair.

'My lady, I have a message from his lordship', at this Persephone looked up at her maid, 'He said that, from tomorrow on, you shall take your meals with him in one of his rooms and the he would be the one escorting you', the Goddess only stared at her, pursing her lips before questioning 'Did he say anything else?'. Through Nysa's mind passed Hades' second request, but she kept her mouth shut about it, 'No, my lady. He just informed me of the new arrangements. I didn't ask why, his mood seemed stormier today' answered the young soul with caution, Persephone's face had turned into a frown. Some more minutes had passed until Nysa was done, she noticed that the Goddess was more quiet than usual and she suspected why. With a worried voice, the soul asked 'I know it isn't my place to ask, my lady. I don't want to pry, but did last night's dinner went out badly? You seem lost today'. 'You're not prying, my dear. It's good to have a friend to talk to, especially in a place like this' answered Persephone smiling a little. With this, she told her friend the reasons why she was there and that left her in that numb state of mind.

The rest of the day was passed with the Goddess reflecting how she should act from that point on. There was no need to unleash her anger on Hades but she also didn't plan on making his life very easy, it was too early to start acting like a married couple that they weren't. She needed to trust him first, she just didn't know how to, he had only been with her twice since she got there. She decided that she would try to act in a more civilized manner towards him, he hadn't done anything to make her any harm. On the contrary, Hades was taking care of her, but she guessed that he was as clueless as her on how to behave.

At night Persephone was lying on her bed, trying to fall asleep while watching the blue light of night coming smoothly through the windows. One could be lead to think that that was Poseidon's palace during the day.

* * *

On the late evening, Hades arrived weary and hungry. Tartarus was a desolated yet disturbing environment, the condemned souls never stayed sane there for very long. Tartarus was an obsidian cave with no end, lightened up by several lava rivers that came from different directions, making the glassy walls of the cavern glow red. In every corner there were spirits being punished, all in very unique ways that depended on the sins they committed in their living life. Some of those punishments had the sinful ones chained up to rock in the middle of the hot rivers, having spills of lava hitting their transparent skin, burning them for eternity. Others were just locked up in small holes in the walls and in the ground, holes so small that doomed them to spend eternity without moving their aching limbs. Five minutes after being there and any God would be sweating, that being the reason for the first thing he did, when he arrived, was to head to his bathing room. He smelt of a mixture of burnt flesh and sulfur, the stench had to come off.

Usually the task didn't took long, but that time Hades took about half an hour, the smell seemed to be alive, fighting not to fade away from the God's well-built body. Finally getting rid of it, Hades stepped out of the small pool and wrapped one of his black towels around his waist, small drops of warm water sliding down his skin. Before he went to his bedroom, he made a flaming globe appear on his right hand and launched it at the leather attire he had been wearing all day, burning it until there were only ashes left. Arriving to his bed chambers, he took notice that his servants had already left a platter of food waiting for him, smelt like goat and fresh fruit. Hades wondered how Persephone was dealing with her situation after the prior evening's events. He, in reality, didn't really know what to expect. From what he had seen, she was a walking dormant volcano, ready to erupt at any given time. Maybe it was time to check on her, and by the blue illumination he concluded that she must be asleep. First he would inquire Nysa of his lady's state, the servants of the palace never slept, it was part of their punishment. They wouldn't know rest until they had paid for their sins, some souls would have to spend eternity without resting, which was the case of Agathe. The old soul had been there for over five hundred years and would be staying for a lot more, nothing erased the lives she had taken from the orphanage she had burnt to the ground. The God could have sent her to Tartarus, but for Agathe there wasn't anything worse than serving someone.

Sitting on one chair, Hades called the young servant's name, not even bothering to dress anything else apart from the black towel. The second he did, she was there, head bowing as usual. 'You called, my lord?' she asked politely, 'Yes Nysa, I have some questions about your lady that I need to ask you' he informed her calmly, 'I'll answer as much as I can, my lord' answered the soul. 'I know you will' he said with a small smile, with a hand under his chin before adding his question. 'What kind of moods was she in during the day?' he didn't feel like explaining her why, he didn't have to. 'She seemed to be somewhat distant during all day, my lord. Being worse in the morning, she reacted very little. I believe she was submerged in her own thoughts all day, sorting out her mind, my lord' she replied with some uneasiness, she was afraid of betraying Persephone's trust. Not enjoying much what came to his ears Hades let out an _Hm_ sound escape, he knew that the reaction was normal, but it didn't mean that he had to like it. 'Did Persephone engage in any activity during the day, Nysa?' he asked with a serious face, 'No, my lord. For most of the day she sat on the Arabian room listening to music, deep in thought' answered Nysa back to him. 'Very well, thank you Nysa, you may go now but, like before, don't say anything about this to your lady' he said to her, to which she answered before dissolving away, 'As you wish, my lord.'

Being alone again, he reflected on what the servant said while he ate the food that was set upon a small table. He needed to make something about it, and he already had some ideas, 'I hope she enjoys reading' he murmured to himself before walking to bed, dropping the black towel in the process, and going to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Morning came easier to Persephone, having all of her thoughts sorted out made it easier for her to get some rest and wake up. With a more cheerful expression she went through her morning routines. That time they were done rather quicker, for Nysa already knew what to do and did it with utter perfection. It was during bath that she remembered that she was to have her breakfast with Hades, she couldn't yet bring herself to call him _husband_. The word sounded too intimate to use with someone that she had no feelings of intimacy for, but strangely enough, he called her _wife_ and _dear_. The Goddess didn't know why. She was still deciding if she should apologize for the behavior she had during dinner. Maybe she should, until that point he hadn't forced himself upon her or tried to hurt her, far from that. It seemed that he was taking care of her and tried to make her comfortable on the palace. With her mind set, she went to get dressed, getting annoyed at the very second the thought of the wardrobe came to her, she had nothing decent to wear, _'Maybe it would be a good idea to ask him for something else'_ she wondered, but there was a voice in her head that made Persephone doubt that he would comply.

When she got to her room, she had the same cool gray dress she had seen a couple of days ago waiting for her. It didn't please her much, but she was running out of options. When she was done, someone knocked on the door, _'It must be him'_ she guessed. She went to open the door and there he was, all clad in black leather. 'Good morning, my dear' he greeted with courtesy, 'Good morning' she answered back with a low voice. Hades, discreetly took notice of her gown and gulped a bit, he figured that controlling himself would be more difficult than he had expected _'What was I thinking when I choose those gowns?'_. Trying to maintain his composure, the blond God offered her his hand, 'I'm sorry for not telling you of the new arrangements myself but I had some business to attend to and when I arrived you were already asleep' he informed her politely. Persephone eyed him with suspicion, _'How did he know that I was sleeping?!'_ she wondered alerted. But, she not want to repeat the scene she had previously made, it wouldn't do her any good, so she decided to let it slide and made some causal talk. The Goddess didn't really knowing what to say, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward and tense, at least on her side. 'No problem' she answered shortly, but she got curious about the business he had been in. 'May I ask what it was about?' she asked unsurely. He only smiled surprised, he wasn't expecting to get her to talk so soon but it seemed to be a good sign. 'Of course you may, my dear. I had to make a small, but lasting, trip to Tartatus. It isn't just the home of the damned souls, but also of very powerful beings that need to be in closure' he informed her. 'Are you talking about Cronus and the other Titans?' she questioned, her curiosity getting the best of her. 'Yes, I am. How did you know? I thought Demeter had tried everything she could to keep you away from such facts' he ventured, slightly amused. 'Yes, she _tried_. But I had a few encounters with Clio' she answered, now more at ease. 'That's good to know' he said, knowing that she was talking about the muse of history, and with that their conversation came to an end.

Hades, placing a hand around her waist, led the brunette through several corridors. He didn't know what else to say to her exactly, he was afraid to make her mad in some way. The uncomfortable silence remained until the pair arrived to two large ebony doors, 'This is where we shall eat from now on, my dear. I hope that everything is of your liking' he said while opening the doors, revealing a large indoor garden. In the middle stood a small silver table with platters, of fruit and bread, and a flask of honey on top, on each side there were two chairs very similar to the ones she had seen in her room and around the palace. There were several patches of tulips of many colors surrounding different tree fruits. The ground wasn't black marble anymore, it was covered with small pebbles of different shades of gray and white. The walls were also different, they were pure white, carved with scenes in which Nymphs moved, dancing and hiding. The garden was illuminated by different colors that came from above. Stepping out from his embrace, Persephone went inside. Looking up, noticed that a magnificent multicolored stained-glass replaced the stone ceiling. The garden contrasted greatly with the other divisions, it was a hint of light in the middle of all of that darkness. _'Where does the light come from?'_ she wondered smiling brightly, her brown eyes sparkling with joy. It seemed that, in the Underworld, not everything was dead, the garden seemed to be quite alive.

'It's beautiful…' she murmured, 'I'm glad you like it Persephone, because it's your's' Hades answered, relieved. He had been holding his breath since the moment he had opened the heavy doors. Persephone quickly turn to look at him, he was smiling at her, 'How is it _mine_?' she questioned him a bit confused, she wasn't used to have someone spoiling her with this kind of gifts. 'You enjoy having me repeat myself, don't you?' he asked amused by her reaction, while putting his hands behind his back. 'Like I've, the garden is your's, you may do with it whatever you wish. I know that being confined to the same two rooms all day can be tiring' he continued with a smirk plastered on his face. Apparently, the awkward atmosphere had dissolved and she seemed to be happy with the garden, much to his relief.

Taking her by the hand, Hades led his wife to the breakfast table. Persephone didn't even noticed the movement, she was too distracted by the environment around her. Once they sat and started eating, the brunette finally remembered the request she had been meaning to make him. 'Hum... I have a request to make' she said hesitantly, 'Go ahead my dear' he said amused by her behavior. 'It's about the wardrobe. What's inside of it, to be more precise', Hades easily figured what she wanted but decided to pretend he didn't know anything about the subject, 'What about it?' he asked before biting a slice of bread covered with honey, Persephone was eyeing him blankly before stating 'I hate it'. Hades wanted to laugh badly at her expression, but he maintained his composure and answered with a grin on his face 'Sorry, but that's a request I cannot comply to, Persephone', the Goddess looked at him outraged, 'Why not?!' she inquired him, almost spilling her water. 'How am I going to say this without having you trying to kill me' he wondered aloud while lowering his head, the woman in front of him only glared, she was not amused. 'You see, I believed that they would flatter you, and it seems that my beliefs were not misled' he explained, his eyes traveling up and down her body. That very moment a splash of water hit his face, _'Damn... I should have kept my mouth shut'_ he cursed himself, eyes closed and a black expression gracing his features. He, slowly, looked up at her face. He noticed that her features had a mixture of amusement and annoyance in them, she had her arms crossed over her chest and he heard one of her feet was tapping on the ground. She seemed to be trying desperately not to throw the table at him. 'Right...' he said before quickly changing the subject. 'I have another thing to show you, if you're done eating', Persephone was killing him in a very slow and painful manner in her mind. 'I am' she shortly answered, still glaring. Getting up, Hades put an arm around her waist and led her out of the garden. This time he was more cautious.

They walked down a corridor, she remembered it to be the one she had found the pool in and, for a moment, her cheeks flushed red, for the memories of what had gone there came back to her mind. Carefully she glanced sideways at Hades, he was still wet from her attack, _'Served him right'_ she thought smugly. The pair soon arrived to an enormous set of doors, like the rest they were made out of ebony, she started to think that the God didn't have much imagination. Hades opened the doors and let Perfection enter first. Again, she wasn't expecting what she saw. It was a library, filled with huge ebony shelves that went up to the ceiling, they were filled with several books and scrolls, some of them seemed to be very old. Like the rest of the furniture, the shelves had diamonds incrusted in them and silver writings painted throughout. There were even some tables with candlestick burning and chairs around them. On the far end, above a threshold, there was a signboard on which one could read a word that said: _ARCHIVES_. That caught the Goddess's interest on that precise moment, she would have to investigate that later. 'I believe that you'll find something to occupy yourself with in here. Anything you need to know about the History of the Underworld and the Olympus is over there' informed Hades, pointing to a great wall of shelves on the right. 'On the other side, you'll be able to find other matters, such as botanic, philosophy, romances and other themes. If you wish you can also visit the archives. Usually I don't grant anyone access to the library, but you'll need to know as much as you can about your new home' he continued informing her with a more serious tone of voice. Softly, taking both of her small hands in his, he placed a heavy key on them, carefully making her hands close around the object, before saying 'This is the key, you may come here whenever you wish and even take some books or scrolls to read in one of the rooms I have given you' he finished. Persephone curiously looked at her hands, a marble key was lying on them, its designs were very intricate, like it had thorny vines intertwined around it. She didn't know what to say, she was starting to feel bad for causing that scene, he seemed to be trying hard to please her.

'Thank you, it's very kind of you' she said with a small smile, he was about to say something but she interrupted him, 'And I want to apologize for my behavior at supper, I shouldn't have exploded the way I did' she finish quietly, looking down. Hades gently lifted her face with his hand under her chin, 'You don't have to make any apologies, my dear. I understand that your situation is not one of the most desirable ones' he said to her calmly, 'I would love to stay here and chat with you, but if I leave Thanatos in charge, Tartarus will be overflowing with souls by noon. I'll meet you again at lunch. I hope you enjoy the garden and the library' he said before kissing her forehead ever so softly and dissolving into the air.

* * *

_'I should really try to give him more credit than I've been giving'_ she thought. Persephone stared in wonder at the library, her warm brown eyes shining once more. She couldn't even believe that he had given her the key and the garden. Quickly and with curiosity, she made her way to the shelves that Hades had pointed out as being the ones about the world of the Gods. She already knew most of the History of the Olympus, her mother had made a point that she, as Zeus' daughter, should know as much as possible about her father's kingdom, but not about the rest or about the great war, that had been Clio. For some reason, that Persephone didn't understood back then, her mother always refused to talk about what was destined to become her new _home_. Demeter avoided talking about the Underworld and its owner like mortals avoid leprosy.

Once in front of one of the large shelves, the brunette looked up. It was filled with old parchments, but surprisingly they didn't have any dust covering them. All book covers were made off leather tainted with different dark colors. Some were midnight blue, others were bloody red and, obviously, there were some that were black. In spite of their colors, all had silver words painted on the leather. Persephone's slim fingers travelled, slowly and carefully, across the spines of the books. They certainly would help her pass her time, but first she would need to pick one. Several titles came to her eyes and some were somewhat comical, like _The Penal Code of the Underworld – and why it's easier to send souls to Tartarus_, the author being Thanatos, _'No wonder Hades didn't want to leave him alone' _she mused in her head. Her eyes travelled from various titles, _Contractual Celebrations of the Underworld_,_ Famous souls that inhabited the Underworld_, _History of the Punishment of Souls_, _Legends and Origins of the Underworld,_ _Light and Darkness – From where comes the light that illuminates the darkness _and _Titanomachy: A War between Gods and Titans_. She eyed them with curiosity, maybe the one about the celebrations of the Underworld would be a good idea to start with, maybe she would be able to understand better her situation.

Taking the book out of the shelf, she made her way towards the door. She decided it would be nice to read it in the garden. She liked its atmosphere, it made her feel calm and relaxed. _'Maybe it would be a good idea to bring the instrument there. I'll have to talk to Nysa about that' _she thought, while making a mental note to ask the soul about that later at night. Persephone sat down at the table where she had been taking her breakfast with Hades. Losing herself for hours, not even noticing that the God stood on the threshold, observing her with an amused grin.

* * *

Her gloomy colored dress contrasted greatly with the magical environment that surrounded her. His eyes graced he feminine figure sitting on the chair with one of her legs under her and the other dangling down bare. She had her brown hair tucked behind her ear, her eyes moved along the lines of the book that lay on top of the silver table. Persephone appeared to be so concentrated that she didn't made no acknowledgment of her husband's presence. He stood there admiring the sight for some time and thinking that maybe their marriage could work, but they still had a long road to walk before that. Disappearing from his spot, Hades reappeared behind her, glancing down at the page she was in. The brunette still hadn't noticed him, so, descending until his mouth was near to her small ear, he spoke in a low voice, 'And what has caught so much of your attention, my dear?' Not expecting to have any company for a while, 'AAAAAHHHH!' screamed the Goddess, while jumping from the seat. She would have fallen to the ground if Hades hadn't caught her by the waist, smirking widely. Once she who her disturber was, Persephone started hitting him and shouting 'Are you mad?! Why would you do that for?!' she was so frustrated that she didn't get to assimilate how close their bodies were. The more she struggled and screamed at him, the closer he pulled her to him, grinning at her reaction. _'She is too easy to scare'_ he mused in his mind. Her face was red, she glared at him hard, smoke coming out of her ear and chest moving up and down profoundly against his.

It was only when he pressed his hand against the bare skin of her back that she took notice of the situation she was in and how amused the God holding her looked. 'Let. Me. Go' she snarled, glaring at him while trying to push him away, her cheeks flaring. 'I don't feel like it. Actually, I quite enjoy being like this. Don't you, my dear?' he questioned her smiling and squeezing her even more against him, his face getting closer to hers. 'No, I don't!' she answered angry with embarrassment, Hades looked down at her cleavage before replying, 'That's a pity, because I am, my dear'. Persephone glanced down to where he was looking, she was about to slap him, but the God appeared to be more prepared and with one of his hands he grabbed her wrist, holding it in the air. 'I don't think that's a very good idea, Persephone' he informed her, with a serious face that was inches from hers, his lips dangerously close. The brunette gulped, she felt uncomfortable in those situations, she wasn't used to them at all. For some reason he seemed to enjoy greatly her uncomfortable state. The hand that was on her back started sending her small jolts of energy, making her skin grow hot and her breath hitch a bit, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Strangely, she liked the new sensation, which made her feel somewhat scared, it was something different, something she didn't know, she was afraid of wanting more of that feeling. That fear made her struggle some more and this time he let go of her, still with an amused expression on his face.

Just as she was about to yell at him, Nysa appeared with another servant beside her, both carrying a silver jar and a platter of food. Not wanting to make a scene in front of them, Persephone swallowed her pride and smile at them, but not before sending daggers through her eyes at the smug God that stood beside her.

* * *

Nysa just stared awkwardly at the pair that stood before her. Her lady seemed to be very uncomfortable and it was evident that she was trying to fake a smile. The servant walked towards the silver piece of furniture, with enough care not to spill any wine or drop any meet on the ground, and placed the platter and the jar on top of it. Glancing a bit at the two Gods, the young soul noticed that Hades was looking at Persephone in a similar fashion that her lover sometimes looked at her, with lust and want, but the God seemed to be able to mask those wishes with the smugness he was clearly showing. Although being so young, she could easily read the eyes of the others around her, it had been something that her mother had told her while she was growing up, _'A woman is thought of being weak in a world ruled by men, she cannot conquer in a battlefield and politics are forbidden for her participate on. The only way she can prevail and control is to know what men want at any given time, and, my daughter, understanding what their eyes are and aren't letting us know. Learn what they want and you will control them easily. You see, one can control its face effortlessly, conceal it with a different persona, but one cannot change its eyes. The eyes are the doors to their wants'_ her mother often say. She usually mentioned that that was how her father had become such a wealthy man, because her mother had control over his him, while he thought that he was the one controlling her. To Nysa what Hades wanted was clear, he wanted the Goddess that was in that garden and nothing else. By the uncomfortable state of her lady and the eyes of the dark lord, she could guess that he had tried something with her, but she wouldn't jump to conclusions just now. There was a possibility that Persephone would confide with her later that night, she would have to wait.

The former slave stepped aside so that the servant that was with her could do her job. After everything was set on the table, Persephone thanked them both in a very kind manner. In the end Nysa questioned, 'Is there anything else that you wish for, my lords?', the brunette was about to say something when Hades cut her off, 'That'll be everything for now, Nysa, you may go, we'll call you if we need anything else', he replied shortly. The shorter Goddess glared up at him in annoyance, she didn't enjoy having her speech cut off by any one, much less by him. The pair of servants bowed slightly and dissipated in the air, leaving the Gods alone once more.

* * *

Hades wanted her, badly. Having her so close to him almost made him lose all of his control. Mentally he thanked the servants for their arrival. He almost didn't notice the servants' actions until Nysa spoke, he had been too distracted eyeing his wife. She intrigued him greatly. When he made his advances she almost lost all sense of response, struggling to get away, panicked. Then there were other times where she had as much fire as the lava rivers that went through Tartarus, and there were occasions where she just seemed to be slightly lost. Other thing that intrigued him was how easily she jumped out of her skin when something caught her of guard, which turned out to be more fun to him then what he was expecting it to be. Thinking that he had already pushed all the buttons he could, but not the ones he wanted, for the day, he guessed that maybe he could redeem himself by doing something as simple as pulling her chair for her to sit in.

Persephone just stared at him, weary of what he could be up to. One minute he was the most respectable God she knew and the other he was having fun putting her in compromising situations and scaring her. 'Persephone, my dear, your just too easy to disturb. It's your fault that I find it amusing to scare you, you're the one making all the fun easy' he pointed out grinning widely, explaining himself, 'Now, lunch is getting cold, care to sit down please? I don't bite…' he asked laughing. The Goddess pursed her lips slightly, she hated to admit but she knew he had a point, she was too easy to scare. Reluctantly, she sat on the chair, she was about to thank him but the thought flew away when he murmured '…much'. And back to glaring she went, _'Pervert'_ she cursed in her head.

Going to his sit and taking a sip of wine, Hades questioned, 'You still haven't answered me, my dear. What book caught so much of your attention?' Persephone had almost forgotten about the book, 'Right... It's one about contracts, I believe' she replied shortly, not wanting to let him know which was the exact chapter she was in, marriage. _'He's smart enough, he'll probably figure it by himself' _she thought. 'Ah! That one, no wonder you were so focused. But if you need any further explanations, feel free to ask me' he said smirking slightly. He knew what book she was reading because there was only one about contracts, and Hades could almost guess which chapter she was in. He thought it was a good idea that she was reading it, maybe it could help her understand better their situation, plus it would probably save him some trouble, last time he had explained to her something about the deal hadn't work out that well. '_If_ I need I'll ask, but the book itself seems to be sufficient, thank you very much' she said, obviously forcing a smile, the glare never left her face. Hades let out a sight, 'You know that we are stuck together for a really long time, you can't hate me forever, my dear' he said while biting some of the meat. Deep down she knew he had a point, she couldn't be rude forever, 'I know I can't. It isn't that I hate you, I just don't trust you... and scaring me isn't helping either' she finishing her answer in a more civilized tone of voice, 'I know, I wasn't asking you to trust me right away, I wasn't expecting you to. All I'm asking is for you to try to cooperate a little more. For the scaring part, I already explained to you, my dear, it's your fault' he pointed out smirking a bit. Persephone wanted to throw something at him for the last statement, but she swallowed her ego. She also knew that she couldn't be like that forever and that someday she would give in, but that day wasn't it. 'I'll try' she breathed out, at this he eyed her with a raised brow, _'There must be a 'but' coming son, there's always one...'_ he thought, 'But...' she started again, _'...and there it is_' he finished the defeated thought. '… I want more decent day gowns, and you'll have to stop spying on me' she said. Hades eyed her carefully, to see if it was safe for him to reply. After a quiet analysis, he concluded that she was indeed calmer and there was no risk on getting drenched in wine. Once he was done pondering on her request, he answered 'I can only comply with half of that request, my dear. The gowns look stunning on you, sorry but that is not happening' drinking some of the wine after he was done. _'Well, at least I tried'_ she thought defeated. 'I'm not really fond of that, but having my privacy back is good enough… for now' she answered in an even tone of voice. Hades just smiled at her. Both continued their meal in silence. Maybe things could work out.

* * *

After their meal Hades excused himself, he still had a lot of work that had to be done that day and he knew she wouldn't be getting into any trouble since she was so focused on her reading. Once he departed, Persephone resumed her reading. She wanted to know more about the ritual that bonded them together, she wanted to know the rules and the implications that came with it. The Goddess already knew that there was no way out of that marriage, so trying to search for anything about that was out of the question. Hades was the main author of the book and guessing that he didn't enjoy sharing, much less letting something that belonged to him go, the only possible way out of it would be death. _'Figures…'_ she thought to herself. Letting her eyes roam through the pages of the old book, Persephone scanned some rules that she already knew and others that she would have never guessed. One of the later was about consummation, with all that had been happening that was one detail she hat let slip from her concerns. She had been so enrolled in absorbing her new life that she had forgotten about that and the stunt she tried to achieve the other day at the pool. That not being bad enough, there was even a period of time in wish the consummation had to take place. It said:

'_The contract is sealed once the bride as eaten from the red fruit of the Underworld – a pomegranate. From the moment she eats the fruit, until a year after the binding of the two parties, the marriage must be consummated. The non-fulfillment of the later will result on the fast deterioration of the bride's body, ending in her death. After this her soul is condemned to roam Tartarus, no judgment needed.'_

'Shit!' she scolded herself. Persephone had almost forgotten about the consummation. Still, she didn't quite know how to express her opinion on the matter, she didn't know what to think, _'What was he thinking when he wrote this? Was he out of his mind?'_. She rested her back against the black chair. He had had his chance when she tried to undress herself in front of him, _'Why didn't he take it?'_. Though she was sure that the blond God wouldn't mind having the opportunity, it seemed that he was trying hard to be a gentleman to her and make her more comfortable around him, most of the times he failed miserably. 'What am I to do now?' she half whispered, they had agreed to be more civil and she had said that she would make his life easier, but there were no spoken agreements about the consummation. She possessed many powers, but foreseeing wasn't one of them. She was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus not of Apollo, who had tried to court her one time but failed as soon as he started. She couldn't know what the future would bring her, she knew that death was a possibility, but she still had almost one year to figure that part out, she would just have to, or at leats try to, let things flow. The brunette figured that she certainly had to ask Nysa some questions about the matter, in Persephone's eyes she was more experienced, and maybe she could help her.

The afternoon went by rather quickly and the Goddess hadn't left the garden. At the moment, she sat against one of the trees with a book about roses on her lap admiring the roses that she had created earlier. She had been missing doing anything that was related to nature and that book had encouraged her to create vines of blood red roses that went up the trunk of the fruit trees. The bright rainbow was almost gone, only gloomy colors tainted the walls, in which the carved nymphs now laid sleeping against each other. Persephone just eyed the environment around her, even at night the garden appeared to be magical. In moments like that she didn't have to think about anything else, she just had to enjoy the quite that the place brought her. The quite was disturbed by the sound of heavy but familiar footsteps echoing behind the doors, _'It must be Hades'_ she thought serenely. Looking up, she saw him at the door, his light skin contrasting greatly with the darkness that now surrounded them, making his features even more salient. She had to admit, even if it was just to herself, the God was very attractive, even with the black iris.

'What are you doing on the ground, my dear?' he asked with a gentle tone, while approaching his wife, he thought that she deserved a better seat than the dirt surrounding the trees. 'Just felt like it' she answered quietly, now eyeing the wall of nymphs. _'How did he managed that?'_ she wondered, for she had never seen anything like that at the Olympus. Hades let a small smirk grace his lips, 'Dinner's waiting Persephone, we should go before it runs cold' he said as he extended his hand to help her get up. The brunette took his hand, grasping it before being softly pulled to her feet. The blond God could have led her through the halls, it was very easy, but he was feeling rather lazy and he figured that it would be even easier to dissolve both of them into the Arabian room. 'Hold on and take a deep breath, my dear' he instructed her quickly, smirking widely now as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against him. 'What are you doing?!' she asked, alarmed by what he was doing, before yelping as she felt the garden starting to spin fast around her and the ground beneath her feet disappearing, she felt like she was about to fall. That made her, unconsciously, clasp her arms around the God's neck and burry her face in his hard chest, afraid of falling and of getting sick. In a matter of seconds her feet touched the ground again, but she didn't react for some moments. Hades started laughing loudly while his hand moved up and down her bare back and the other curled softly on her light brown hair, trying to sooth his wife. 'As much as I would love to have you like this, I still enjoy the relationship I have with the air, my dear' he said, trying to look down at her. Realizing that everything had stopped moving, Persephone carefully looked up at him before her cheeks turned red with the realization of how close his face was to hers. Quickly, she let go of him and stepped back, with and embarrassed expression gracing her face. 'Why did you keep pulling stunts like that? You could have at least warned me!' she said while breathing hard, trying to keep the contents of her stomach in their rightful place. 'I warned you to hold on and to take a deep breath, it's not my fault that you only followed half of the instructions' he said with an amused smile, while pointing a finger at her.

With that, the God made his way to the table that was already set. The smell of pork stew with vegetables filled the exotic room. Persephone only glared at him, she wasn't used to have someone catching her off guard so many times in one day. No wonder she was so wary of him, it seemed that he would take, gladly, every chance he could get to take her out of her comfortable zone. Still glaring, she went to her usual seat. 'Well, don't do it again, I didn't enjoy it very much' said the brunette, still red from the strange experience. 'Don't worry much about it, my dear, the first trip is always the worst. Soon you'll get used to it' he said calmly, while looking through the display of food and seating down, opposite to her. 'Sorry, but I don't have the intention of ever repeating it' replied Persephone in a rather annoyed tone. Hades only eyed her and chuckled a bit as he picked the food for his plate, 'Oh yes you will' he said smirking, leaving the hot headed Goddess to stare at him perplexed. _'What is he talking about?!'_ her mind screamed, _'He can't possibly be serious about this, I was so close to throw up…'_ she thought in desperation, she didn't really want to repeat it again.

Noticing that she was staring at him, he decided to tease her a bit more. 'What's the matter, my dear? Seeing something that you like or are you waiting for the stew to get cold?' asked Hades smiling widely. Only after that she realized that she had, in fact, been staring at him for a while. Quickly the blood rushed back to her cheeks and Persephone looked down at her food. She thought it would be better if she kept her mouth shut and took a deep breath, in case her temper decided to invest in another homicidal attempt. After that, the rest of the meal went on in silence.

These were the kind of situations that made her doubt that she could ever have a civil relation with him. Their natures were so different and neither was used to the other.

Hades possessed a darker nature. It resided in provoking what could be called controlled chaos. Although he liked to have everything under control on what went on around him, he still enjoyed messing with the _natural_ course of life. Once his favorite lives to mess with were the ones of his siblings, but for the last week or so it had been Persephone's life. Her reactions fascinated him and edged him on even more. Unlike most of his brothers and sisters, he was not able to create life and that was what lead him to sentence the dead and to choose the Underworld as his kingdom. It was isolated from the drunk and promiscuous world ruled by the Gods of _brighter_ natures. In his home he could judge the rotten, he didn't need to witness what they had done to see it through them. The more he saw, the more he wanted to rule the Underworld, giving him the power to decide over their dead fates. It amused him to know how a world that was ruled by so many Gods was decaying so quickly, while it only took one to end it all, he just had to snap his fingers and all of it would be gone. Every act he put on made the others cringe, they were always afraid of having their powers put at risk again, this was one of the kinds of chaos that he enjoyed the most – the mental chaos. With his wife it was a completely different kind of chaos, this one had the motive to get close to her, to make her react and bring out the fiery spirit that he knew was hidden underneath all of that controlled exterior.

Persephone was quite the opposite, she had a lighter nature that didn't go well with chaos, or so she thought. It bothered her greatly when something messed up with her routines and plans. Throughout her life, she had never had much chance to decide for herself, Demeter had always made it very clear of what she was to do, when and where. So she would take every chance she'd got to make those decisions herself. She enjoyed having her freedom and loved life just as it was, the Goddess alleged that death and darkness didn't suit her very well. She was supposed to give and create life, but never take it away or even toy with it. Nature was everything to her, and she loved to be able to promote it and make it even more beautiful than it already was. True she had a bad temper and exploded easily, still she praised the peace and quiet, it helped her think and concentrate. Being constantly disturbed didn't help her at none.

At the end of their silent dinner, Hades took Persephone by the hand and escorted her back to her bedroom doors, interestingly she didn't oppose, she seemed to be in deep thought. While she ate, she went through the events of that day. Apart from scaring her and from the stunt he had pulled earlier, he had been nothing but kind to her. Maybe it was a good gesture to thank him, maybe it could help both of them in this new course. Soon they were standing in front of her bedroom doors. 'I hope everything was of your liking, my dear' he said with a low and kind voice, 'It was... I want to thank you for the garden, it's very beautiful, I have never seen anything like it. And for trusting me with the key of the library' she answered back, looking away. He smiled and grasped her chin softly, making her look at him, her dark eyes were uncertain. Leaning down a bit he whispered 'You don't have to thank me Persephone, as long as it pleases you… Goodnight, my dear. Sleep well and rest' before kissing her forehead tenderly and dissipating into the air, with a slight smile gracing his features. Persephone was left standing there, staring into nothing, just feeling her warm skin getting cooler as the remaining evidence of his presence left her. 'Goodnight…' she whispered back to the empty hall before her.

* * *

When Persephone entered her room, she found her friend patiently standing next to one of the big windows, the blue light trespassing Nysa's form. If it hadn't been for the smile that was painted on her features, the picture before her would have been much gloomier. Glancing quickly at her bed, she found that the servant had already laid a light blue nightgown for her and changed her sheets into black ones. 'Goodnight, my lady' greeted the servant with a kind smile. 'Hello, Nysa' answered the brunette back with a small but absent smile. 'How was your day, my lady? You seem to be a little distressed, if it isn't too bold for me to say' inquired the servant seeing the confused look of her lady, it wasn't normal for her to be like that, and when she was, it was because something was bothering her. Nysa could almost guess the nature of the problem, but she wouldn't venture, afraid of stepping too much out of line.

Persephone didn't mind having the girl asking her this kind of questions. Apart from Terpsichore, Nysa was her only friend, she was the only person that the Goddess felt she could confide to in there. But, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't find the words to describe that day. All that had happened felt strange, she wasn't used to be so pampered. Never had her mother let her read anything that went beyond botanic, creation spells – she had learned how to destroy furniture by watching her mother's behavior – and rather short versions Olympian history , now she had countless of the most various themes. Even though she was trapped down there, somehow she felt more freedom. It was a very strange feeling. How could someone, that is hidden from the rest of the world, feel so free? She didn't know, but for the first time, in a long while, she had rooms that were meant only for her, she didn't have to sneak off in the middle of the night if she wanted to dance, nor did she have to deal with her mother's possessive behavior over her, she had Hades' to compensate for the loss. The only thing she had to deal with was the internal battle that was taking place. On one of the trenches stood the freedom he had given her – freedom of knowledge and self – but on the other end of the battle stood the lack of trust – he had, indeed, been spying on her and he had left her in complete darkness for a whole week. Even though his behavior annoyed her greatly, she knew she couldn't do anything against that and, despite her best efforts, it was his nature. The Goddess had to admit that, somehow, she was starting to enjoy his company… The knowledge of the deadline also helped to increase the intensity of the conflict. On one hand she knew that it would have to happen sooner or later, but on the other was the trust she didn't have in him. Not that she was completely oblivious of what had to happen, Terpsichore had taught her all about the technical processes and what it implicated. The only thing that Demeter had bothered to tell her about sex came in the shape of the story of the bee and the flower, that is was very painful for the woman and that a couple only did it because they wanted a child and nothing more. That turned out to be a lie, since Persephone was left alone many nights to take care of her siblings because her mother was sleeping with a different God. If it hadn't been for the muse, the brunette would have never had a clue about was sex about. As for her situation, Persephone felt that it couldn't come to be without any kind of connection between them. She just couldn't bring herself to do it, not for a while. Plus, the thought of dying over it didn't help her case either. _'Was Hades drunk when he thought about these rules or did he have Thanatos making them for him?!' _she had thought disgusted when she had read it the first time.

After some short moments, she concluded that she didn't have a good answer to give her friend. Hoping that Nysa could help her in some way or give her some kind of advice, she ventured by saying 'It's not too bold of you, don't worry. As for how my day was… I don't really know what to answer you…'

The young servant eyed her with curiosity, she had been right, something was indeed bothering her lady. 'How so, my lady?' she asked with concern, while approaching Persephone to help her with her brown hair, as the later sat on the bed. 'I'll tell you, but first you have to promise me something' said the brunette with a serious tone, 'Anything you wish, my lady' replied Nysa feeling a bit afraid of what she was going to ask. Persephone was getting tired of being called _my lady_ over and over again, she didn't like it that much, 'Please, stop calling me _my lady_' she said with a smile. Nysa let out a small chuckle, 'Alright my… as you wish then' she answered smiling. After that the Goddess started describing everything that had gone on during that day. The translucent being listened carefully to everything, trying to figure out what she could say that would ease Persephone's conflict, but, sadly, there was very little she could do. Her story was so different from the one she had been witnessing for the past days. There was no deadline, there was no deal. They had both chosen each other, no one had been promised to the other, their love was free and careless. The only thing that she could say to Persephone was that, maybe, it would good for both to put that week behind them, to start cooperating with each other and try to enjoy their time together. It wouldn't be easy, but she wouldn't know if she didn't try. She couldn't tell her how she should feel. Someone had once told her that no one can feel the same emotion as the other person. Everyone is different and so are the emotions and their intensities, even if the situations are similar. It would have to be something that she had to figure out on her own.

It was Persephone's turn to listen carefully. She knew that Nysa was right, she couldn't compare both cases… She had to go on that trip on her own, but not completely, for she knew that her friend would help her whenever she could. She had to consider all parts very carefully.

Thanking Nysa before dismissing her, the brunette dressed the light blue nightgown and laid on her bed. That night she wouldn't sleep nor rest very much, the conflict would torment her for many hours.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! First of all I want to thank for every review, favorite and follow, it means very much to me. I would also like to warn you that I might not publish with as often as once a week from now on. I'm going to start my finals soon and I have some college works on the course that need to be done. I'm terribly sorry, but I'll try to post as often as I can, just stay tuned to see when a new chapter will come! **

**(New update with a spelling error corrected)**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Morning arrived again, along with the fiery light that emanated from the windows. Persephone had slept very little as she tried to draw some conclusions and figure out what her next moves should be, and that she did. Having granted access to all the contents of the library, she decided that she might as well take advantage of that and learn as much as she could about the powers she had, as Queen of the Underworld and as a descendant of Zeus. Until that night, the notion hadn't quite settled in, nor had she paid much attention to it. The Goddess decided that, if she was to spend the rest of eternity attached to with Hades, she would have to do something more rather than dancing, wondering around and reading all day. Persephone wished to know how the judgments were made, the rules and laws that set upon them. She already had the tools for that, all she had to do was to put them to good use. She planned on attending the judgments later on, she knew that she couldn't do it right away. That could be the only reason that would explain why Hades had given her the key to the library, and she wouldn't settle as part of the decoration of the palace. Soon she would ask him to let her watch, but only when she felt that she was ready to.

While growing up, Persephone never had the opportunity to take command of anything, much less her own life. To dance, she had to sneak out of her room in the middle of the night. She didn't even know what else she could do with her powers. Demeter seemed to be afraid of what she could be capable of and to cease her fears she just taught to create plants and to help her with the crops, which was frustrating for someone who wished to know more about the limits of what she could do and that seemed to be so very little. The way her mother always had the brunette protected from everyone and everything started to make some sense after what Hades had told her on their first meal together. The more Persephone wished to know, more windows her mother would close. _'Maybe being taken to the Underworld wasn't that bad after all'_ she thought, there could explore what she was never able to and understand even better what she was able to do with the powers that ran in her veins. Persephone was tired of having a passive role in her own life, it was time to take control of most of it.

As for her relationship with Hades, she decided to let it flow, see what the outcome would be. Wanting it or not, they were bonded to each other and there was nothing either could do to break away from it, in the end she would have to succumb. But one thought haunted her conscious, _'If he was the one settling the rules, and if there is a time limit for us to consummate this marriage, why hasn't he done something about it? He had the chance some days ago, but he refused to take it'_, the more she thought about it, the more confused she would get, she couldn't find a reason why. He had the perfect opportunity when they were in the pool room, but he just pushed her away and for some moments the thought of him not being interested in women passed through her. What wronged her was the way he acted afterwards, it had been extremely intense, at least for her. The conflict in his eyes clearly showed what he really desired, and pushing her away wasn't it. Nevertheless, she was thankful that he wouldn't do anything without her consent, that revealed his true nature, there was more than a dark man underneath those mismatching eyes. True that she could just ask him the reason for that rule, but she didn't have it in her to ask him straight away. Maybe asking Nysa would be a good idea. The girl was more experienced with relationships than, maybe she could bring her some light on the matter.

Soon enough there was Nysa knocking on her door. 'Come on in' answered Persephone softly while sitting up and resting her back against the headboard of the bed. The previous day she had asked the servant to change her sheets to something that had something to do with her, the room screamed Hades everywhere. Nysa gladly changed switched them for some plum ones. 'Good morning, Persephone' said Nysa, smiling kindly as she entered the room. 'How was your night?' she questioned while moving in the direction of the wardrobe to choose her lady's attire for the day. 'Thoughtful' replied the Goddess shortly, but with a decided look on her face. 'Is that so? And may I ask what were the outcomes of such night?' asked an intrigued Nysa. She knew that Persephone had a lot to sort by herself and, by the look on her face, she could figure that the brunette had already made some decisions, and important ones it would seem. Persephone only smiled, her eyes, although tired, were shining brightly. 'Yes you may, Nysa' she informed her, 'And I'll tell you everything about it, but first I'll take my bath' she continued as she raised her finger comically, while getting up from bed. So it was, while the servant girl arranged her light brown hair into a simple braid, Persephone informed her about what she had decided to do and informing her that she was to come to the garden every other hour to renew a book or refill the pitch of water, every day from that morning forward. She was to start with the penal code, then she would move on to the one that stipulated what were Hades rights as Lord of the Underworld and so on. She would try to avoid Thanatos autobiography at all costs, she feared that there were details about his person that she didn't want to know, and from the way Hades had described him made her want to recognize them even less.

'Hum… Nysa, there is one matter on which I need your knowledge on' she informed as the servant put on her hair one of the last pins. 'If I can be of any help' the other answered. 'As you know, there is limit for me and Hades to consummate the marriage. One year, to be more accurate. The thing that has been bothering me is that Hades hasn't made any move on concerning it. I've tried to find a reason to it, but nothing has come to me' she said honestly and with a slight defeated expression. Nysa furrowed her eyebrows and pondered for some moments, 'Well, he could just be trying to make you comfortable around him, Persephone. This is the way that I see it: if things are taken slowly and at their own pace, the consummation will happen when you both see it fit to and, most likely, there won't be any regrets. I believe that he is trying to be a gentleman and to have more than a sexual relationship with you. I wished that my lover and I had taken that much care with our relation, maybe I wouldn't get caught in the mess I was in. In the end I never knew what happened to him, nor did he come to find me after my parents found out' she finished, her voice showing the remorse that haunted her every day. In the end there were a few tears leisurely sliding down her checks. Persephone, gently, put a hand on top of her friend's. 'Don't worry, I promise you that everything will end well. And maybe you're right, maybe he is just trying to be a gentleman, but I'll still keep my guard up' finished the Goddess with a slight smile.

It wasn't long after Nysa had gotten Persephone ready that a familiar knock on the door was heard. It was Hades to take her to the garden and the servant went to the door to open it. His attire was, as usual, similar to ones that they had seen already, black leather. After the Goddess stepped out of the threshold of her doors, the blond God greeted her 'Good morning, my dear'. 'Good morning, _my King_' she answered back politely. He had to stop himself for a second _'What the…?'_ he thought, _'She can't be feeling right'_, he had to fight the urge to check her for any fever that his wife might have been running. However, after eyeing her closely, he noticed that there was something different about her, about her eyes, they were shinning with what looked like great amounts of determination. _'Hum… I haven't seen her eyes like this in a long while… What are you up to, my dear wife?'_ he thought to himself in suspicion, but the God decided to let it go, he was sure that sooner or later he would find out. 'Shall we go?' he asked her, while extending his hand for her to take. Persephone only nodded her head and took his hand. This time he dissolved them into thin air without any sort of warning. Again the Goddess clung to his chest, which he gladly accepted. Hades wouldn't miss one opportunity to have her close to him.

Once their feet came in contact with the garden's floor, Persephone quickly let go of him, fuming just a little. 'Would you please stop doing that?' she replied. 'Sorry, but no. It's a lot to walk from your room to here, my dear. But if you wish, you could always move to my room, it's by far closest one' he retorted back, grinning widely. 'Only if you stay out of it' she answered with the same grin on her face. That made Hades grin quickly drop, he didn't know that witty new side of her. It was like she was done being the calm Goddess he had taken her for. He knew that she had some fire in her, she usually didn't show it around him, but he didn't mind it one bit. Far from it, it made him want her even more. He let out a chuckle and sat himself on the table and started his meal, she followed suit. The rest of the meal was passed calmly, with her making several questions about what she would be able to find inside the library's walls.

After Hades left, Persephone put her plans on their right track. She made her way to the big library, got the book she was looking for – that being the penal code – and made, slowly and almost painfully, her way back to the garden – the book was the heaviest thing that she ever had to carry. Not even her brother that had always been a big baby, weight so much. 'First thing after this monster – learning how to summon objects' she grumbled.

* * *

The next few months would be spent in a similar fashion. Persephone would take her meals with Hades and then she would study as much as she could. She had read almost every single topic that there was on the process that went from what happened after someone died to their final fate, which would either be Tartarus or the Elysian Fields. At the end, she found herself enjoying her time with him, not being bothered so much about the mean of transportation that he would usually use nor with his unpredictable behavior. Most of the time she would inquire him about some subjects that she'd found to be a bit confusing.

One time it had been about resurrections, she had been reading about it for two days but there had been a part that she couldn't understand. They were sitting on top of the pillows of the Arabian room having dinner. She had asked him if someone that had been resurrected, and died after, could have their soul travel to the Elysian Fields? He had answered that it would depend on the soul.

'_It is true that no one can throw away the bad they have done, and coming back from the dead won't erase the mistakes the soul has committed. It is said that only if the second life is passed mending the wrongs that were done on the past, or trying hard to that the soul can find peace on the Elysian Fields. There has to be a reasonable change in the energy of the soul, otherwise there's nothing that can be done to help them. Usually those are the souls that are harder to judge, since they are very little in number. Why do you ask, my dear?' he inquired her smiling, he liked the fact that he could have these kind of conversations with her and the fact that she was showing great interesting in learning. 'I was reading a book about the subject and got curious. It didn't specified anything about what could happen to the soul if they died a second time' she informed very calmly as she laid on her side, feeling a bit tired that night. 'Well, feel free to ask me about anything, I'll be glad to help you. There is a section of the penal code that might offer you some help. I believe that it is a small one at the end, I can't quite remember. I would love to help you more, but it's like I said, those souls are very few. It's natural that there is little information on that subject' he said, his eyes moving slowly along her curves that were wrapped by a deep red garment. Persephone noticed it, but, at that point, it didn't make her as uncomfortable as it had done in the beginning. 'Did you ever resurrected one?' she asked, her curiosity getting the best out her. Hades face hardened a bit, 'No, I haven't' he answered shortly. Persephone crooked her head to the side, she might have pressed her thumb on an open wound unintentionally. 'May I ask why?' she questioned timidly and carefully. His face aggravated a bit more, it really was a tough subject for him but there was no reason for him to lie to her 'Yes you may, my dear. I have never forbidden you from me asking anything. It's because I never had the chance to do and even if I wanted to, I couldn't. Do you remember the first time we met? All those years ago?' he asked. The brunette nodded softly. 'Then you must remember that the narcissus that I gave you died shortly after I had created it' he paused to seen her reaction. After a short moment of retrieving that memory, 'Yes, I remember' she answered. 'Well, the reason is the same. I cannot create life like most of the Gods and like yourself, I can only have the power take it and to control what happens to the soul after. That's also the reason why I'm the only God with no successors. Being that, I cannot perform any kind of resurrection ritual' he continued, even feeling troubled by the subject his eyes never left his wife's face, he was studying her reaction. Persephone lowered her eyes and processed what had been told to her, that moment made it clear to her why he had found refuge in that dark kingdom, he belonged there. Looking back at him, she smiled softly. True, she would never become a mother, but acting on it would be selfish of her, she didn't want to cause him any more pain. 'Thank you, for telling me' she said gently. 'You don't have to thank me Persephone, it's your right to know' he said to her, relieved that she had taken it so well. That topic was left there, neither touched it again. It saddened that she wouldn't be able to raise one of her own and it pained him not to be able to give her that._

As time went by, their conversations were becoming more meaningful and less empty and awkward as they had been in the beginning. His advances also didn't bother her as much, nor did the teleporting. In fact, secretly she was learning how to do it herself. He had been right, the palace was way too big to be walked through every day. Two months after and she could already teleport the short distance between her bedroom and the Arabian room. She was still trying to block Hades' holograms, but Persephone couldn't know for sure if she was succeeding or not. He still hadn't protested.

As for her duties and rights as Queen of the Underworld, she already had them all sorted out inside her head. She could do as much as he could, except from the matters that involved some prisoners that were in Tartarus. To be more accurate, Hades was the only one that made decisions about Cronus as the Titans, no one else, not even the Queen could have a say in it. She had found out that there weren't only souls residing in that forgotten place, there were also living creatures. Creatures so dangerous and powerful that, if someone released them, the Universe's existence could come to a bitter end.

At that moment Persephone was pondering if she should put a plan that she had been cooking on course. It was so tempting and she doubted that Hades let do what she was planning if she asked him. She was so eager to see his face once he'd found out. Probably she would get into some trouble, but she didn't bother to think about the consequences her future actions might bring her.

The Goddess was laying languidly on her bed, waiting for Nysa to bring her the project the two had been working on ever since Persephone made the decision to have the control that had been denied to her until then. It was a double piece leather attire. The top was made so there would be no sleeves, just a couple of half-an-inched straps on each shoulder. The neckline wasn't very low, but it wasn't too high either, it was a straight one that covered her breasts almost completely. However, the bodice and the trousers clung to her skin, but not in an uncomfortable manner. Both pieces covered her almost completely, only her arms and part of her chest and back were showing. They also had a black pair of knee high boots made for Persephone. The bodice and the pants were made out of dark gray leather, with some iron ornaments on the front of the top and boots. With the magic she had been learning, she was able to conjure the materials without raising any suspicions from Hades. They would always work on the outfit when he was judging or when he went to Tartarus or the Olympus, those were the only times the brunette was certain that he wasn't spying on her. He had promised that he wouldn't do it any longer, but something told her that that was too good to be true.

Some minutes went by until Nysa knocked on the door, _'Strange… She usually doesn't take this long…'_ thought the Goddess as she pulled herself to sit on her bed. 'Come in, please' she answered aloud. Soon the translucent girl entered, while holding the leather attire in one arm. She seemed to be very distressed. 'Did something happen, Nysa? When you went you looked more at ease' commented the lady, worried about her friend. The later saw no point on trying to lie to Persephone, they already knew each other very well, it would be very easy for her friend to figure it out. 'Well…' she began.

_Nysa was going to one of the storage rooms to get Persephone's outfit. That room was only meant for food, the Goddess's food, so the former slave was the only servant aloud to go in there. She was about to open the door when a voice stopped her, 'Nysa, come to the throne room immediately!' it was Hades' raised voice, one that didn't seem to be in a very friendly mood at all. If, in that moment, she had any blood in her veins, it would have frozen instantly. Gulping hard, the servant evaporated into the air and appeared in the requested room. The dark God was alone, which was strange, at that time of day he would usually be judging or out in Tartarus. As much as she wanted to inquire him, she wouldn't dare to, he seemed to be in a very bad day. The platter of food that usually stood beside him, was scattered down the steps that lead to his throne. Her mind raced through everything that she had done that could possibly have angered him in such a way, but she couldn't find a single reason why. 'Y-you called, my lord?' she breathed out, being truly scared of what he could do to her. Hades only eyed her with an irritated stare. 'Yes. And I have one very simple question to ask, to which only two beings in this palace know the answer for, one of them being you' he informed her, while point a finger at her in the end of the statement. 'Me, my lord?' she questioned extremely confused, she had no idea of what he was talking about. His eyes narrowed, he was growing impatient. 'Yes, you. Could you please care to inform me what on Tartarus is she doing? Because, for some foreign and damned reason, my holograms aren't working' he continued, his eyes closing and both of his hands rubbing his temples, before eyeing her in an accusatory manner, she knew he was talking about Persephone and her confused behavior was giving him a headache. Had it been in any other circumstance and he would have let it slide, but he didn't enjoy being double-crossed. Nysa bowed her head, but struggled to find an answer to that question without betraying her lady's trust, she figured that saying that the Goddess was laying on her bed wasn't the answer he was looking for. 'Well, she has been studying very hard, my lord' she answered unsure. Hades' glare intensified, 'That I already know! What exactly has she been studying, Nysa?' he questioned again. At that point she was sure she was a step from being sent to Tartarus. Gulping once again, 'She has been studying the laws and history of the Underworld, everything about judgments and rituals, and a month ago she started to study and train magic, my lord' she answered with a low voice and a head still bowing, feeling a bit ashamed of telling on her friend. Hades let an exasperated breath out, he would have to deal with Persephone himself on a later date, he suspected that she had learned to block out his holograms. Not needing anything more from Nysa he sent her away and very quickly she disappeared from the dark room. It was the only division, that she had seen so far, that had no windows whatsoever._

In the end of Nysa's speech, Persephone was laughing hard. 'Oh! I wish I had been there to see his face' she managed to say, while she twirled on her bed. As much as she tried, she couldn't contain her laughter. She knew he would react that way, being that the reason why she decided to learn how to block him in the first place. The Goddess only fell sorry for Nysa, who was looking at her wide eyed, the girl was the one he had to explode his anger on. Persephone could only guess what he had stored for her. That only made her grin even more. 'I'm sorry you had to listen to that, Nysa. I truly am, but I find his reaction hilarious' she said to her friend, whose expression seemed to be slowly softening. 'Don't worry, I would never let him sent you to Tartarus. I would make life his life miserable if he was ever to do it. Let me deal with his _royal_ attitude' continue the Goddess with a big smile on her face, reassuring her stressed friend that as long as she was there that Nysa wouldn't have to worry about him. The brunette would always protect her. On the other side, all of that meant that her studying and training was gaining some fruits. _'Just wait to see what I have in store for you tomorrow'_ she thought amused, everything was turning out as she expected.

* * *

In the following morning Hades stormed out of his room, still glaring at everything. Dinner went by in a very interesting manner. He had confronted her with his _small_ problem. It infuriated him to be kept in the dark from what she was doing, but her attitude infuriated him even more. _'So?'_ and a big smirk on her face were the only answers that he had gotten. _'You should be proud of me'_ she continued smugly. In fact he was, but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of saying it.

Not wanting to walk any further, Hades dissipated into thin air and appeared on the steps of his dark throne. He started climbing up when his eyes met Persephone sitting across his sit, her back laying against one arm rest and her legs dangling over the other. On her lap was a heavy book that she was so intently reading. The blond God almost lost his balance at the intrusive sight, that was the most startling thing he was expecting to see all day. _'What the…? This has to be some kind of joke that I'm not getting. What is she doing up there?'_ His eyes were blinking fast, as if trying to understand why his wife was sitting on his throne. His focused his attention on the title of the book, it was the penal code _'This is preposterous, she can't possibly think that she is going to judge! She has no training whatsoever!'_ There were many things wrong with that picture. First, she shouldn't be up there… or at least as he thought so. Second, he had never seen the leather attire she was wearing, nor did he know where it had come from, but he wasn't going to complain about it. _'The little minx… She had me passing for a fool for the past weeks…'_ he thought, as an image of himself hitting his head against one of the dark columns appeared inside his mind. He could not believe that he had not seen it coming. Third, there was no way she could get there without passing Cerberus and the guards. Forth, he was never informed of any of her intentions.

'Persephone, what are you doing up there?' he asked, his voice showing the very little patience he had for her at that moment, with his eyes squeezed in a threatening manner. The Goddess looked up from her reading, holding a very serious expression, 'I'm going to watch the judgments' she answered plainly. 'And what gave you the impression that you could just waltz in here without permission? This isn't a show for your enjoyment, my dear' he replied, sternly but showing hints of sarcasm tainting his voice. In his reasoning, she if she had asked him first then he probably would have let her come, but apparently she just decided to be insolent. Hades wasn't known to let his authority being questioned, much less to be put aside. 'I'm not here to entertain myself, Hades. I'm here to learn how the judgments actually occur, studying won't do me much good if I don't put it in practice. As for the permission, no, I don't have any, nor do I need to' she answered back with a big smile gracing her face, she certainly wouldn't let him win, _'It's your fault, you were the one showing me the library'_ she accused him mentally. 'Excuse me, since when?! It's _my_ throne room' he asked outraged, 'Since you wrote down the laws and rule of the Underworld. It says that, from the moment you marry someone – that person being me – the throne room belongs as much to you as it does to me, making it not _yours_, but_ ours. _So yes, I can come here as I wish and whenever I want to' she finished her speech triumphantly, seeing the way he was glaring at her. Hades gritted his teeth, as much as he hated to admit, he knew she was right about that. Having had enough of her wiseacre comebacks, Hades decided to leave all of his courteous behavior and use the one card he knew would that would keep her quite, for a while. 'Using that train of thought, since _my _throne room is actually _ours_, then the same should be said about _my _bed. Should it not, my dear _wife_?' he retorted back, grinning from one ear to another. It was Persephone's turn to glare, 'It doesn't say anything about bed sharing on the rules, I'm just following them' she answered quickly as her cheeks flared, only to have Hades laugh at her. Having ceased to be so shocked, the dark God noticed that Thanatos should arrive at any moment, it was time to finish their quarrel. 'Well then, do as you wish, but you are going to have to get up. That throne, where you're so temptingly sitting on, is still _mine_' he remarked, walking up in her direction. 'And where am I supposed to sit?' she asked shocked, while sitting up and looking around the room. That was the only seat that existed for that purpose, the ones left were on a big table that was in a far end of the room. 'Oh, my dear, you have plenty of room to sit on. You can sit on the steps, but I warn you, Cerberus usually salivates on them, a lot. You can stand all day next to The Keres, though I wouldn't do it if I were to be you, their company can be quite disturbing. You can also sit on one of the arm rests, or on my lap. And believe me, none of them will bother me the least, especially the last one' he answered while smirking at her as he approached. His wife seemed to be pondering her options, and from the faces she was making, he figured that none of them pleased her one bit. 'You could always order for a new throne to be made' she ventured carefully, her voice clearly hopeful and her face trying to create an innocent expression. Hades started laughing loudly, making her glare, _'She is delightful, but no, that won't work'_. It seemed that the roles had been inverted. 'Ah! If you were smart enough to create that attire, which flatters you beautifully if I might say, to block me out and to study all the rules to use them so eloquently, you can certainly do that yourself, my dear. Now, would you please get up from there and make a decision, Thanatos will arrive at any minute and I must be seated' he said, grinning wildly.

Persephone wanted to protest, but she should have measured the consequences when she got the brilliant idea of making that _surprise_. She knew that she couldn't stand an entire day holding the penal code, the book was extremely heavy. She also wouldn't sit on the steps, she was the Queen of the Underworld and a Goddess. She wouldn't sit at his feet like a dog, much less on top of the fluids made by one. All that she was left with was to sit on top of one of the arm rests of the throne, because she wasn't, willingly, going to sit on his lap. Quickly lifting herself up, the light brown-haired female moved to the right arm rest and sat there, huffing as she did so. _'I wasn't thinking about this when I decided to assist'_ she scolded herself. At that moment all she wanted was to dig a hole and bury the rest of her dignity in it. Little did she know that, in some moments, she wouldn't have any left.

A knock echoed through the ebony doors, _'It must be Thanatos'_ thought Hades while glancing at Persephone, who was sitting with her legs crossed at his right, trying to balance the book on her lap and failing at it. Rolling his eyes, the God, skillfully, snaked his arm around her small waist and hoisted her to his lap, to sit on top of his right leg, making the Goddess yelp in surprise. 'What are you doing?!' she exclaimed outraged as she tried to struggle away from his iron grip, but he wouldn't budge. He wanted to laugh badly, but he had to restrain himself from doing it. He had the personification of death waiting to enter, probably impatiently, right on the other side of the door. But her scent wasn't helping his case, she smelt of apples and cinnamon, _'How am I going to endure this all day?!' _he thought in utter panic. 'Making you more comfortable, my dear. Now, if you don't mind, try to keep your voice down. By the way, next time you need inspiration on clothing you can ask me directly, you don't have to sneak around to do it' he whispered at her left ear before kissing it. She had to take a deep breath, her eyes were bulging, she was about to scream at him when Hades interrupted her loudly, 'Come on in!'

The door slowly opened and the dark figure of a middle aged man came inside. It was Thanatos. His skin was dark, as if it had been burnt, his long straight hair was as black as the night, but his eyes were pure white, with no iris coloring them. His features were quite hard and heavily marked by time. In his hand there was an old but sharp scythe, its handle was made out of cold burnt wood, it had a red line of burning charcoal spiraling from its bottom until the beginning of its blade. The man wore a black tunic that came down to his feet, no embellishments turning it more joyful. He was about to greet Hades had it not been for the scenario that was presented to him. He looked dumfounded. In front of him he had the blond God with a very calm expression on his face and with an arm circling around the waist of a woman that could only be Persephone. She, on the other hand, didn't look so calm, on the contrary, her face was extremely flushed and she seemed to be ready to commit murder. Eventually, after getting over his initial shock, Thanatos greeted them and took his usual place. As much as he wanted to, he would not ask anything about what he saw, _'This is going to be interesting to _assist' he thought.

Soon enough The Keres and The Moirai entered the throne room. Needless to say that only the later didn't seemed so fazed about the new presence on the room. They only chuckled at the sight, already knowing what happened and what was to come.

Hades looked around the room, it seemed that they were ready to start their day. 'Shall we begin?' he asked with a powerful and deep voice. He didn't bother to explain to them what Persephone was doing there, nor did he need to, she should only be of his concern. Everyone replied with a positive nod of their heads. Well, everyone expect for the Goddess who remained still and quiet and holding a grudge against her restrainer. 'Very well, then. May the first soul enter!' his voice boomed. With that their day began.

* * *

Throughout their morning Persephone managed to be quite focused and silent as she studied the judgments. At some point she was able to obliterate, almost successfully, the notion of having her back pressed against his chest and that she had one his arms around her waist. The souls she had seen so far seemed to be rather easy to judge. The group had come faced with murderers, thieves of all kinds and adulterers. Between them there wasn't a single one that would stand out as the most shocking, none acted on revenge nor were they controlled. They seemed to be fuelled by what society had made out of them and by their greediness, but none of that help them from their fate. One of the main rules of the penal code said:

_The soul must have had acted on a clear conscious and with full control of their faculties to be sent to Tartarus. The manipulation made by a second or third party shall be taken into account and, if the judges see it fit, the soul will be sent to the house of Hades to serve before moving on to the Elysian Fields. _

And from what she had seen, none had been influenced. She had also focused on how Hades proceeded. His attitude in there was completely different from the one he had with her. But was only natural, there he was the Lord of the Underworld, cold, stern and commanding in voice and in action. For the first time in those months, Persephone felt small next to him, he showed so much power and the souls were actually afraid of being in his presence. Not one tried to make any smart remarks concerning their future – not that the rest of the morbid group seemed to be less intimidating. Even Thanatos, who was an imposing figure just by appearance, showed immense respect for him. The Goddess already knew what her powers were as Queen, but it was watching the judgments that she understood their magnitude they hold. Never, during her childhood, did she imagine what was the future hiding for her to find out, what she was really meant to do.

Once the first session came to an end, Hades excused them both and dissolved them into the garden. This time the brunette didn't have as much problems with the process as she did in the beginning. Her training had helped very much and she didn't feel as uncomfortable standing close to him. On the contrary, she felt very relaxed. 'So, what do you think?' he asked grinning as he sat down to start his lunch. 'That I still have and need many more to attend to' she answered swiftly after some moments of pondering about the subject. 'Not all sessions are this easy, I believe you already know that. It's good to know that you are this interested in learning, but next time try to warn me first, I'm not a very big fan of surprises' he informed with a reprehensive look. She only smirked and answered, 'I cannot make any promises, but I'll try. It will have to depend on the surprise'. Hades eyed her with a suspicious stare, 'My dear, I am warning you. Next time you won't end up just on my lap' he replied back as he took a sip of some wine. 'I'm petrified' she answered in mock shock. She was used to his _threats_ by that point, she knew that he would never try anything with her consent. He only smiled at her. The rest of their meal was spent with both of them discussing some cases that had passed through the throne room. Soon it was time for them to head back and start with the judgments.

During one hour everything went on in a similar fashion, and Persephone still had to sit on his lap. She was sitting with one elbow on the arm rest and relaxing her head with her hand under her chin when one guard came inside instead of one soul. Hades quirked an eyebrow, 'What is the matter, Helicaon?' asked the God. 'I'm sorry to interrupt your duties, my lords. There is a visitor' he answered obediently. 'And who it might be?' continued the God seeming to uninterested by the matter, but he was already losing his patience for being interrupted. 'It's your nephew Hermes, sir. Says that he has messages to deliver for you and the Queen' answered the soul once more. _'Again?!'_ thought Hades, his brother knew he hated the boyish God, but still he insisted on sending him there. Persephone, who had straightened up, put a hand over her mouth to try cover her laughter, but still her husband took notice of it. _'Why is she laughing? Does she know him?'_ he wondered annoyed, Hermes hadn't entered and he was already wishing to launch him into Tartarus. 'Hm… send him in' he answered glaring. Meanwhile, he noticed that Persephone was shaking with contained laughter, it had been the first time, that day, that she had lost her composure. 'What is the joke, my dear?' he whispered in her ear as he brought her closer to him. 'Oh, I'll tell you later' she managed to whisper back. He was about to say something else when Hermes came, literally, flying through the door. 'Hello Hermes, why do I own the honor of your _delightful_ presence?' he asked with sarcasm dripping from his voice. 'Hello uncle. It's nice to see you again Persephone. You look well' he said eyeing her intensely. To his misery, the dark God caught his eyes and quickly cut off what his wife was about to say, 'You didn't answer my question, nephew', his voice clearly showing the annoyance and possessiveness that he was feeling. One thing was to have to put up with the flying God's presence, another was to have him eyeing his wife like he was about to eat her whole. The young God gulped and removed his attention from the female that was calmly sitting on Hades' lap. 'Oh right… I have some messages for you and Persephone' he answered quickly, already seeing his that image was being burnt and tortured inside Hades mind. 'From who?' asked the God, he hadn't been expecting anything for his wife. It had been two months since he had brought her to the Underworld and no one had sent anything until then. Hermes had sweat descending down his forehead, _'Why did you have to look at her, you idiot?!' _he reprimanded himself. 'You're putting us behind schedule, hurry up boy!' ordered Hades with a menacing voice, his nephew was taking too long to answer. Persephone cringed a bit at his tone, she wasn't used to see him like that. The flying God straightened his back in a jolt, 'There is one from Zeus to you, I think it's about a meeting, and the other two are from the muses Clio and Terpsichore for Persephone' he answered as quickly as he could, while trying not to eye the Goddess directly, but still wondering how could she be sitting so calmly on her kidnappers lap. Until that day, Hermes still thought that he would have been the right one for her. Hades was taken aback a bit but didn't show it, he certainly wasn't expecting it. 'Give them to one of the guards and tell them to give me the messages at the end of the day, and _please_ leave' he said sternly. 'Very well _dear_ uncle. Until next time, Persephone'. _'That's it!'_ Hades had had enough of his nephew's insolent behavior. Lifting his free hand up and pulling Persephone closer to him so she wouldn't get burnt, the older God created a fiery ball, large enough to turn his immense door into ashes, and threw it at Hermes, who quickly, and with bulging eyes, flew out of the door. The three letters fell in front of one of the guards. In his panicked fly had forgotten to tell them the indications he was meant to.

All the while Persephone stood there, her eyes constantly traveling between Hades and Hermes. She could have said something, but she decided against it, she was enjoying the scene way too much. _'Hm… I wonder what he will do when I tell him that Hermes tried to court me. He'll probably kill him'_ she thought. She could feel the God's arm tightening around her waist, the pressure was starting to become too uncomfortable to bear. She had to put her hand on top of his arm, to indicate that he should loosen up his grip. 'Why did you do that for?' she whispered at him. Hades huffed, that wasn't a very good moment to give her any satisfactions about what had gone on. 'Later, Persephone. I'll explain everything to you at dinner. And don't you think that I have forgotten about earlier, you also have some explanations to give' he answered lowly, but with a stern voice. That was the end of their discussion. She pursed her lips and looked straight ahead at the doorway, the doors had been turned into gray ashes. She didn't enjoy being put off that way, but she wouldn't infuriate him any further. She knew, from experience, that Hermes was annoying, but she thought that he may have been way too harsh with the young God. She could feel Hades frowning behind her, _'Dinner is going to be so entertaining'_ she thought sarcastically, at that point she had forgotten about the letters that had been sent to her. Glancing quickly at her sides, she noticed that the group that surrounded them stood there grinning discreetly, they certainly had seen that show many times before.

* * *

Several hours went by until it was time to close their day and head to supper. Hades mood didn't improve much. Although his grip on her had loosened, he still kept it very firm, as though she was to be snatched away from at any moment. When they arrived at the Arabian room, he did not let go of Persephone as he usually did. She tried to struggle away from his grasp, but it was a vain effort. He seemed to be in a very impatient mood. 'Let me go, Hades' she demanded in an even voice, although she was starting to feel uncomfortable. As much as she enjoyed unnerving him, she wasn't too fond about the way he was acting towards her. 'No, first you are going to explain to me what happened between you and that poor and _extremely_ annoying excuse for a God' he retorted back, his voice demanding and sharp. _'He truly is mad' _she thought to herself, as her forehead wrinkled into a frown and one of her eyebrows arched. She wanted to laugh badly, but the Goddess only left a smile form on her features. 'Don't tell me you, Lord of the Underworld, are jealous of a boy-God?' she quizzed, her voice was crystalized with amusement, but the blond, that was holding her in place, didn't feel the slightest pinch of enjoyment in him. 'Persephone, don't push it. Answer me' he warned her as his embrace tightened once again around her body. She finally gave up, 'Alright, alright!' she answered smiling, it was time to stop teasing him. 'But let go of me first. It's getting hard to breath, _dear_' requested the Goddess. Hades clenched his jaw in stubbornness, but eventually he freed her. They both sat on the pillows, side by side. She still wanted to laugh, her stomach was starting to hurt from all of the contained glee. He was acting like a child whose favorite toy was on the verge of being stolen away, but she kept in mind that her mother used to, and still was, far worse than him.

'I was laughing because he _tried_ to court me, this past summer' she started to explain, snickering at the memory. Hades closed his eyes slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingertips and let out a deep breath. 'He did what?' he rhetorically questioned, trying hard to maintain his control on track. 'Let me finish and you'll know the rest' she reprimanded back in a motherly tone. He only glared back, but kept his mouth shut for he did want to know what had gone so he could punish Hermes right. 'He thought it would be an _extremely _romantic idea to take me on a flight over the ocean and telling how it would be memorable for us to marry… I'm afraid of heights, all I wanted was to get my feet back onto solid ground. In the end, he ended up listening to my mother's livid shouts while I recovered from a panic attack. Needless to say, he got out of there wishing that he had been sent to Tartarus. But he decided to be persistent and adventurous and appeared at my window one night and asked me in marriage, _again_. Shame that I had created a carnivorous lily that day' she finished her tale with a proud face. At that point Hades had smoke coming out of his head but he didn't say anything for some moments. He seemed to be marinating some kind of cruel prank or torture to set upon Hermes. 'Hades, calm down. He's just a boy with his hormones out of control' she said with a grin painted on her face, but she knew she had to cool down his temper. Otherwise, a war between Gods would start just because he was feeling possessive. 'That _boy_, as you put it, is the most annoying being I have had the displeasure of meeting. He doesn't even have a clue of what he has gotten himself into. Well he does, but it seems that he doesn't pay too much attention to the fireballs' he said, 'And don't you think that _hormones out of control_ is an excuse for the disrespect that he showed you today. I don't know how many more times I'll have to throw Cerberus at him for the brat to stop showing up down here…' he continued on rambling. At some point Persephone had given up listening to him, she just sat there giggling, _'Could the Lord of the Underworld feel so threatened by an undeveloped man with wings on his feet?'_ she wondered. The more she thought about it, the more she would laugh. The Goddess ended up laying on her back with hands around her belly. Hades stopped in mid-sentence to eye her, he didn't see where the jest was, at all. 'Persephone' he called once, trying to get her attention back. She didn't respond and continued sprawled on the pillows in her fit of glee. 'Persephone, my dear' he called once again, his patience growing thin, she still didn't hear him. He had to admit, she looked even more beautiful when she smiled like that, and it was pity that she wouldn't do it more often. Plus, having her laid on those pillows, the way she was, was very tempting. His eyes fell on her rosy lips, he remembered the last time he had tasted them and he also remembered her reaction. It had been some weeks prior, and it hadn't end that well. In the end she had fled away. With that memory is impatience started to wear thinner and a smile formed on his face. He had been missing that feeling ever since, even more after that morning, her scent was intoxicating and had been haunting him for the whole day. To think that Hermes wanted her has his made his insides growl with anger, but that was a matter that had to be attended later. His focus now was on the laughing brunette, he thought of giving in into his desire and proving to her that the brat didn't threatened his integrity one bit. Hades just prayed that she wouldn't run away like the previous time. Bending down, the blond God grabbed one of her wrists with one hand and pulled it above her head. That made her stop. Her eyes fell on his, he wasn't stern or annoyed anymore, he seemed to be determined and there was something else that she couldn't figure out what it was. 'Hades, wha…' she couldn't finish her sentence, for his lips fell upon hers. Persephone's eyes went wide as her cheeks boiled red and her breath itched. She tried to struggle away, it wasn't and it didn't feel right, at least not for her. He was her kidnapper after all. He put his other hand behind her head, knotting his fingers in her brown hair and pulling her even closer to him. Her free hand was hitting hard against his chest, but it didn't seem to be making any damage on him. He was kissing her passionately, in a way that didn't give her time to gather her senses, making the memories of the last time they had kissed came rushing back to her. She wouldn't admit it, but she liked the feelings it brought to her and had longed for them, terribly. Some moments passed and she finally gave in and kissed back, lacing her hands around his neck. Her lips dancing passionately along with his. Some time passed before they broke away for some air, with their faces still very close to each other and their lips lightly grazing. Hades rested his forehead against hers and locked her eyes with his, 'This time you won't run away, my dear' he whispered hoarsely. That wasn't a question and she knew it, but she wouldn't run away this time. Once more he brought his lips back to hers. She didn't fight back, she was enjoying the feeling it gave her and, surprisingly, she wanted more. He ran his tongue slowly across her now red lips, begging for entrance and she, unconsciously, granted it. He let go of her wrist and moved his hand to her waist, circling it softly and securing her in place. At that moment none of them was thinking clearly, their dinner had been forgotten on top of the table that was in front of them.

Hades ran his hand down her thigh and there was where she awoke from her seduced state of mind. They had to stop, in spite of yearning for more, she knew that if they continued she would regret what had been started. Regaining the rest of her senses, she was able to grab the blond's hand and brake away from their kiss. Her breath had picked up some speed and she tried to control it before giving an answer to the confused God that laid over her. She closed her browns eyes and took a deep breath, her chest rising profoundly, 'We have to stop, please' she whispered, both hands on his shoulders. 'You want it Persephone, I can see it in your eyes and feel it on your lips' he whispered back, locking his stare with hers. 'Yes, I know, but not now. Buy I need time…' she said, moving her head to the side, breaking up eye contact. Hades studied her expression carefully, she seemed to be struggling. He knew it wasn't that simple for her to just giver herself away to the person that had basically kidnapped her from her bed, he knew would have to wait. He had already waited years for her, he knew he could wait some months more. 'If you wish so, my dear, I'll do it. I won't do anything without your consent, you know that. But in return you have to promise me something as well' he said to her gently as, with his hand, he carefully grabbed her chin to make her look at him again. Her eyes were shining, but there was some uncertainty and sadness in them. 'Yes?' she questioned. 'Stop running away from me… We cannot make this marriage work if you try to escape every advance I make' he whispered, his face just inches away from hers. 'I cannot make a promise that I don't know if I'll be able to keep, but I can try' she responded, her voice barely above a murmur. He made a small smile appear on his face before kissing her forehead softly while place both of his hands on either side of her face, 'Thank you' he whispered.

He looked up at their supper, there was no steam coming from it, meaning that it must have cooled down. He waved his hand above it and steam started to come from it once more. With his arms he pulled his wife back up into a sitting position, 'Now my dear, lets dine' he said with a smile. Persephone just chuckled and eyed him with curiosity, _'How can he just change his mood like that?' _she wondered amazed. Trying to take her mind out of what had just happened and from the guilt that washed over her, she also started to eat. For the rest of the meal Hades had been inquiring her on what she had been exactly doing ever since he had given her the key to the library and had she been able to enter the throne room without being noticed. Apparently she has gotten close enough to transport herself inside and far enough for not being seen by Cerberus and by any guard. It seemed that he had been trying to lighten the environment around them, which worked as he expected, she smiled. In the end Hades handed Persephone the two letters that were meant for her before both parties departed to their rooms.


End file.
